Talk:Hotspot (geology)

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[edit] Controversy?

I'm not an expert on this subject, but hotspot theory, once seemingly unassailable, is newly controversial. See the Geological Society debate and http://www.mantleplumes.org/ . I think it would be good if the article reflected this discussion. --Rodii 23:09, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

mantle plumes have now been imaged all the way to core-mantle boundary. The www.mantleplume.org site is a tract against plumes by small group of dissidents; it does not represent current consensus. But it is important to distinguish between observed fact (hotspots) and presumed origin (mantle plumes, or not). In the 2 years since previous comment, plumes have become well established. Geodoc 21:24, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Possible expansion and ammendment

It is some time now since I finished studying geology, but I believe there is some distinction made between hotpots occuring in the middle of tectonic plates (for example Hawaii), and those occuring at plate boundaries (eg. geothermal activity over the Mid-oceanic ridge in the Atlantic - Iceland being a good example)

Certainly explanations as to the cause of the former are more controversial and open to debate than those in the latter, where the cause is fairly self evident.

I am new to Wikipedia, so am still unclear on the etiquette of amending articles. Is there somewhere an article could be submitted for peer review before being made live?

Hi Zx9rsteve, jump right in :-) Of course, conside what has been done previously (not a lot here) and see the references given in the article and above. Probably best to start with a relatively small addition, see what the reaction is, and then move on to bigger edits. If you make a mistake, no problem, it can be easily undone. Go for it - I'll be watching to see what you do. This does need expansion. Also, sign your posts on talk pages with ~~~~ that's four tildes, this puts your sig and a date stamp on it. That's not for article edits though. Have fun, -Vsmith 02:06, 2 Mar 2005 (UTC)

It seems that someone's been confusing St. Helena with Mount St. Helens. It should be noted that Mt. St. Helens is obviously not a hotspot-generated volcano. I'm aware that St. Helena is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean which, although extinct, may have a hotspot associated with it. St. Helena is best known as the island where Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to after being captured by the British. -NorthernFire 16:27, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

I would recommend making hotspot volcano page part of mantle hotspot page -- essentially same thing. The Geological Society Debate was conjured up by people who contest hotspots, but as evidence accumulates - especially new seismic tomography of mantle plumes - their arguments are becoming weaker (were never that strong to begin with). Geodoc 06:38, 21 January 2007 (UTC)