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Science 19 June 1992:
Vol. 256. no. 5064, pp. 1645 - 1651
DOI: 10.1126/science.256.5064.1645
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Articles

Plate Tectonics and Hotspots: The Third Dimension

Don L. Anderson 1, Toshiro Tanimoto 1, and Yu-shen Zhang 1

1 Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125

High-resolution seismic tomographic models of the upper mantle provide powerful new constraints on theories of plate tectonics and hotspots. Midocean ridges have extremely low seismic velocities to a depth of 100 kilometers. These low velocities imply partial melting. At greater depths, low-velocity and high-velocity anomalies record, respectively, previous positions of migrating ridges and trenches. Extensional, rifting, and hotspot regions have deep (> 200 kilometers) low-velocity anomalies. The upper mantle is characterized by vast domains of high temperature rather than small regions surrounding hotspots; the asthenosphere is not homogeneous or isothermal. Extensive magmatism requires a combination of hot upper mantle and suitable lithospheric conditions. High-velocity regions of the upper 200 kilometers of the mantle correlate with Archean cratons.


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