On 3 April 2001, a 20 kg point source of fluorescein dye was released 30 m above the bottom of the active summit caldera of Vailulu’u submarine volcano, Samoa. Vailulu’u crater is 2000 m wide and at water depths of 600–1000 m, with the bottom 200 m completely enclosed; it...
The volcanic origin of the Samoan archipelago can be explained by one of three models, specifically, by a hot spot forming over a mantle plume, by lithospheric extension resulting from complex subduction tectonics in the region, or by a combination of these two processes, either acting sequentially or synchronously. In...
Combined analyses of deep tow magnetic anomalies and International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 349 cores show that initial seafloor spreading started around 33 Ma in the northeastern South China Sea (SCS), but varied slightly by 1-2 Myr along the northern continent-ocean boundary (COB). A southward ridge jump of ∼20 km...
Estimates of the relative motion between the Hawaiian and Louisville hot spots have consequences
for understanding the role and character of deep Pacific-mantle return flow. The relative motion between
these primary hot spots can be inferred by comparing the age records for their seamount trails. We report
⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for...
Reading through this issue of Oceanography, it will become
apparent that researchers in different disciplines see their
seamounts in quite different ways. The term seamount has been
defined many times (e.g., Menard, 1964; Wessel, 2001; Schmidt and
Schmincke, 2000; Pitcher et al., 2007; International Hydrographic
Organization, 2008; Wessel et al.,...
Many disciplines of geochemistry have no data reporting standards, and their use of metadata is inadequately developed. This presents problems to the quality of the published science, and it limits the utility of computers in data analysis and the exploitation of Information Technology (IT). We discuss problems of data and...
Lau Basin basalts host an array of geochemical signatures that suggest incorporation of enriched mantle source material often associated with intraplate hotspots, but the origin of these signatures remain uncertain. Geochemical signatures associated with mantle material entrained from the nearby Samoan hotspot are present in northwest Lau Basin lavas, and...
We report new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for the oldest Pacific oceanic floor at Ocean Drilling Program Site 801C in the Pigafetta basin and Site 1149D close to the Izu-Bonin subduction zone in the Nadezhda basin. These ages were determined by applying high-resolution incremental heating experiments (including 15–30 heating steps) to better...
The summit crater of Vailulu’u Seamount, the youngest volcano in the Samoan chain, hosts an active
hydrothermal system with profound impact on the ocean water column inside and around its crater (2 km
wide and 407 m deep at a 593 m summit depth). The turbidity of the ocean water...
The Louisville seamount trail has been recognized as one of the key examples of hot spot volcanism, comparable to the classic volcanic Hawaiian-Emperor lineaments. The published total fusion ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data of Watts et al. [1988] showed an astonishing linear age progression, firmly establishing Louisville as a fixed hot spot in...