As the Galápagos hot spot is approached from the west along the Galápagos Spreading Center there are systematic increases in crustal thickness and in the K/Ti, Nb/Zr, ³He/⁴He, H₂O, and Na₂O content of lavas recovered from the spreading axis. These increases correlate with progressive transitions from rift valley to axial...
The submarine Amsterdam-St. Paul (ASP) Plateau, bisected by the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR), is a bathymetric high rising ~2 km above the surrounding seafloor that includes the islands of Amsterdam and St. Paul; this excess volcanism is attributed to a mantle hot spot. We obtained new Sr, Nd, and Pb...