Possible New Force Driving Earth's Tectonic Plates - Hot Magma Plumes

www.sciencedaily.com...

Scientists who study tectonic motions have known for decades that the ongoing "pull" and "push" movements of the plates are responsible for sculpting continental features around the planet. Volcanoes, for example, are generally located at areas where plates are moving apart or coming together. Scripps scientists Steve Cande and Dave Stegman have now discovered a new force that drives plate tectonics: Plumes of hot magma pushing up from Earth's deep interior

Using analytical methods to track plate motions through Earth's history, Cande and Stegman's research provides evidence that such mantle plume "hot spots," which can last for tens of millions of years and are active today at locations such as Hawaii, Iceland and the Galapagos, may work as an additional tectonic driver, along with push-pull forces.

Their new results describe a clear connection between the arrival of a powerful mantle plume head around 70 million years ago and the rapid motion of the Indian plate that was pushed as a consequence of overlying the plume's location. The arrival of the plume also created immense formations of volcanic rock now called the "Deccan flood basalts" in western India, which erupted just prior to the mass extinction of dinosaurs

If I understand this article correctly, these plumes can last for millions of years and help move the plates. Im not sure how much these plumes affect the plates.

Maybe after a few years more of research into this subject, maybe we will find out there are more factors influcencing our plates movements? Wasnt there something about how the weather affects the plates not too long ago?

Is there any evidence of these plumes surfacing recently?

If that were the case, then we would be staring at the end of our species, just like the dinosaurs.

Thanks for the update

reply to post by guessing


I believe some plumes are active in Hawaii, Iceland and the Galapagos, but they have been active for millions of years, atleast according to the new study.

Im not sure if any new plumes have surfaced recently. I think this new research is just too new at the moment and Im guessing it will take them awhile to examine and see if new plumes are forming currently.

Those ain't new though google the permian extinction even and Siberian traps or Decan traps.. Ice land has been home of a small flood basalt...

Giving this a bump because I think the siginificance of this could be easily overlooked.

I think that eventually it will be revealed that there are several of these plumes and they are the driving force for most of the major volcanic events in recent and ancient history.

I have no doubt that Yellowstone is one of these plumes, as well as Toba. One of the other major basalt oceans is right here in Washington State in the Columbia River valley...not too far from where the Yellowstone plume used to be. It has migrated over the past several million years from West to East as the North American plate has traveled to the West.

I think the yellowstone plume is responsible for feeding the cascade range as well as the crater lake and mammoth lake calderas. I also think that Toba is what is feeding the massive system in Indonesia. This latest scientific discovery is taking us one step closer to understanding how all these systems are connected....either by continent or perhaps world-wide.

I've used your reference to this article in my 'putting it all together' thread, due to its relevance (see my sig line if you want to take a look at the thread, you might find it interesting). Thank you much for the info!

Originally posted by buni11687
www.sciencedaily.com...

Scientists who study tectonic motions have known for decades that the ongoing "pull" and "push" movements of the plates are responsible for sculpting continental features around the planet. Volcanoes, for example, are generally located at areas where plates are moving apart or coming together. Scripps scientists Steve Cande and Dave Stegman have now discovered a new force that drives plate tectonics: Plumes of hot magma pushing up from Earth's deep interior

Using analytical methods to track plate motions through Earth's history, Cande and Stegman's research provides evidence that such mantle plume "hot spots," which can last for tens of millions of years and are active today at locations such as Hawaii, Iceland and the Galapagos, may work as an additional tectonic driver, along with push-pull forces.

Their new results describe a clear connection between the arrival of a powerful mantle plume head around 70 million years ago and the rapid motion of the Indian plate that was pushed as a consequence of overlying the plume's location. The arrival of the plume also created immense formations of volcanic rock now called the "Deccan flood basalts" in western India, which erupted just prior to the mass extinction of dinosaurs

If I understand this article correctly, these plumes can last for millions of years and help move the plates. Im not sure how much these plumes affect the plates.

Maybe after a few years more of research into this subject, maybe we will find out there are more factors influcencing our plates movements? Wasnt there something about how the weather affects the plates not too long ago?

So if I'm reading this right - basically scientists are confirming that the earth is undergoing a period of transition that will likely include violent seismic and volcanic activity and that we may be close to another extinction level event?

reply to post by Disconnected Sociopath


Im not sure if the earth is currently undergoing a period of transition just from this new discovery. The research is still pretty new. They have discovered some plumes that have been going on for millions of years, but Im not sure how influencing they are at the moment. It could be drastic, or it could only have a minimal effect.

IMO - I think the research is still too new to have a conclusion at the moment.