Pacific plate motion change caused the Hawaiian-Emperor Bend
Date
2017-06
Authors
Torsvik, T.H.
Doubrovine, P. V.
Steinberger, B.
Gaina, C.
Spakman, W.
Domeier, M.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Abstract
A conspicuous 60° bend of the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain in the north-western Pacific Ocean has variously been interpreted as the result of an abrupt Pacific plate motion change in the Eocene (∼47 Ma), a rapid southward drift of the Hawaiian hotspot before the formation of the bend, or a combination of these two causes. Palaeomagnetic data from the Emperor Seamounts prove ambiguous for constraining the Hawaiian hotspot drift, but mantle flow modelling suggests that the hotspot drifted 4-9° south between 80 and 47 Ma. Here we demonstrate that southward hotspot drift cannot be a sole or dominant mechanism for formation of the Hawaiian-Emperor Bend (HEB). While southward hotspot drift has resulted in more northerly positions of the Emperor Seamounts as they are observed today, formation of the HEB cannot be explained without invoking a prominent change in the direction of Pacific plate motion around 47 Ma.
Description
Keywords
Hawaiian-Emperor Chain, North-western Pacific Ocean, Motion, Hawaiian-Emperor Bend, Palaeomagnetic data, POLAR WANDER PATH, PALEOMAGNETIC POLE, SKEWNESS ANALYSIS, MANTLE STRUCTURE, EARTHS MANTLE, HOTSPOT, MA, TOPOGRAPHY, SUBDUCTION, TECTONICS
Citation
Torsvik, T.H. et al. 2017. Pacific plate motion change caused the Hawaiian-Emperor Bend. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 8, Article number 15660.