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Science 1 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5791, pp. 1281 - 1284
DOI: 10.1126/science.1128489
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Reports

50-Ma Initiation of Hawaiian-Emperor Bend Records Major Change in Pacific Plate Motion

Warren D. Sharp1* and David A. Clague2

The Hawaiian-Emperor bend has played a prominent yet controversial role in deciphering past Pacific plate motions and the tempo of plate motion change. New ages for volcanoes of the central and southern Emperor chain define large changes in volcanic migration rate with little associated change in the chain's trend, which suggests that the bend did not form by slowing of the Hawaiian hot spot. Initiation of the bend near Kimmei seamount about 50 million years ago (MA) was coincident with realignment of Pacific spreading centers and early magmatism in western Pacific arcs, consistent with formation of the bend by changed Pacific plate motion.

1 Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA.
2 Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wsharp{at}bgc.org

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Major Australian-Antarctic Plate Reorganization at Hawaiian-Emperor Bend Time.
J. M. Whittaker, R. D. Muller, G. Leitchenkov, H. Stagg, M. Sdrolias, C. Gaina, and A. Goncharov (2007)
Science 318, 83-86
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)