Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain
The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain is the Hawaiian Islands and the Emperor Seamounts: together they form a vast underwater mountain region of islands, seamounts, atolls, shallows, banks and reefs. The line goes southeast to northwest beneath the northern Pacific Ocean; and many of the underwater mountains are guyots.[1]
The seamount chain, with over 80 identified undersea volcanoes, stretches over 5,800 kilometres (3,600 mi) from the Aleutian Trench in the far northwest Pacific to the Loʻihi seamount, the youngest volcano in the chain, which lies about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of the Island of Hawaiʻi.
The oldest age for the Emperor Seamounts is 81 million years, and comes from Detroit Seamount. However, Meiji Guyot, located to the north of Detroit Seamount, is likely somewhat older.
In 1963, geologist John Tuzo Wilson explained that the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain was created by a hotspot of volcanic activity that stood as the Pacific tectonic plate moved over it. This left a trail of volcanic islands and seamounts. A "bend" or "V" in the chain marks a shift in the movement of the Pacific plate some 47 million years ago, from a northward to a more northwesterly direction. The bend shows how a tectonic plate can shift direction suddenly. A look at the USGS map on the origin of the Hawaiian Islands clearly shows this "spearpoint".[2]
Recent research shows that the hotspot itself may have moved with time. Some evidence comes from analysis of the orientation of the ancient magnetic field preserved by magnetite in ancient lava flows sampled at four seamounts.[3]
Emperor seamounts table
| Name | Type | Coordinates[4] | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock | Seamount | 30°15′N 178°50′E / 30.250°N 178.833°E | 27.7 to 38.7 million | |
| Colahan | Seamount | 31°15′N 176°0′E / 31.250°N 176.000°E | K-Ar 38.7±0.2 million[5] | |
| Abbott | Seamount | 31°48′N 174°18′E / 31.800°N 174.300°E | K-Ar 41.5±0.3 million | |
| Daikakuji | Seamount[6] | 32°5.00′N 172°18′E / 32.08333°N 172.300°E | K-Ar 42.4±2.3 and 46.7±0.1 million | Also the name of a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Daikaku-ji |
| Kammu | Guyot[7] | 32°10′N 173°0′E / 32.167°N 173.000°E | 42.4 to 43.4 million | Named after Emperor Kammu, former ruler of Japan |
| Yūryaku | Guyot[8] | 32°40.20′N 172°16.20′E / 32.67000°N 172.27000°E | K-Ar 43.4±1.6 million | Named after Emperor Yūryaku, former ruler of Japan |
| Kimmei | Seamount[9] | 33°40.84′N 171°38.07′E / 33.68067°N 171.63450°E | K-Ar 39.9±1.2 and 47.9±0.2 million | Named after Emperor Kimmei, former ruler of Japan |
| Kōkō | Guyot[10] | 35°15.00′N 171°35.00′E / 35.25000°N 171.58333°E | K-Ar 48.1±0.8, 50.4±0.1 (south side), and 52.6±0.8 (north side) million | Named after Emperor Kōkō, former ruler of Japan |
| Ōjin | Guyot[11] | 37°58.20′N 170°22.80′E / 37.97000°N 170.38000°E | K-Ar 55.2±0.7 million | Named after Emperor Ōjin, former ruler of Japan |
| Jingū | Guyot[12] | 38°50′N 171°15′E / 38.833°N 171.250°E | K-Ar 55.4±0.9 million | Named after Empress Jingū, former ruler of Japan |
| Nintoku | Guyot[13] | 41°4.80′N 170°34.20′E / 41.08000°N 170.57000°E | K-Ar 56.2±0.6 million | Named after Emperor Nintoku, former ruler of Japan |
| Yōmei | Seamount[14] | 42°18′N 170°24′E / 42.300°N 170.400°E | 56.2 to 59.6 million | Named after Emperor Yōmei, former ruler of Japan |
| Suiko | Guyot[15] | 44°35′N 170°20′E / 44.583°N 170.333°E | K-Ar 59.6±0.6 (southern), 64.7±1.1 (central), and 60.9±0.3 million | Named after Empress Suiko, former ruler of Japan |
| Detroit | Guyot[16] | 51°28.80′N 167°36′E / 51.48000°N 167.600°E | ~ 81 million | Well-documented seamount, second-oldest |
| Meiji | Guyot[17] | 53°12′N 164°30′E / 53.200°N 164.500°E | 85 million | Named after Emperor Meiji, former ruler of Japan; oldest known seamount in the chain |
Hawaiian–Emperor Seamount Chain Media
The Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, zoomed in on the modern-day islands
Related pages
References
- ↑ Frankel, Henry R. (2012). "The Continental Drift Controversy: Introduction of Seafloor Spreading," p. 292; Clague D.A. & G.B. Dalrymple. 1987. "The Hawaiian-Emperor volcanic chain, Part I. Geologic evolution," In R.W. Decker, T.L. Wright & P.H. Stauffer, eds. Volcanism in Hawaii, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1350, pp. 5-54; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ "origin of the Hawaiian Islands". Archived from the original on 2007-07-26. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ Tarduno, John A.; Duncan, Robert A.; Scholl, David W.; Cottrell, Rory D.; Steinberger, Bernhard; Thordarson, Thorvaldur; Kerr, Bryan C.; Neal, Clive R.; Frey, Fred A.; Torii, Masayuki; Carvallo, Claire (2003). "The Emperor Seamounts: southward motion of the Hawaiian hotspot plume in Earth's mantle". Science. 301 (5636): 1064–1069. Bibcode:2003Sci...301.1064T. doi:10.1126/science.1086442. PMID 12881572. S2CID 15398800.
- ↑ "Seamount Catalog". Seamounts database. EarthRef, a National Science Foundation project. Retrieved April 10, 2009.
- ↑ Sharp, W. D.; Clague, DA (2006). "50-Ma Initiation of Hawaiian-Emperor Bend Records Major Change in Pacific Plate Motion". Science. 313 (5791): 1281–84. Bibcode:2006Sci...313.1281S. doi:10.1126/science.1128489. PMID 16946069. S2CID 43601673.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Daikakuji Seamount"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Kammu Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Yuryaku Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Kimmei Seamount"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Kōkō Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Ōjin Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Jingū Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Nintoku Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Yomei Seamount"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Suiko Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Detroit Tablemount"; retrieved 2012-6-9.
- ↑ Geographic.org, "Meiji Guyot"; retrieved 2012-6-9.