Meiji Seamount
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| Meiji Seamount | |
|---|---|
 Elevation of the Pacific seafloor, showing the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain including Meiji Seamount near top. |
|
| Elevation | approx. -2,000 m (-7,000 ft) |
| Location | North Pacific Ocean |
| Range | Emperor Seamounts |
| Coordinates | |
| Topo map | NGDC ETOPO2v2 |
| Type | Guyot |
| Easiest route | Submersible |
Meiji Seamount is the oldest seamount in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, with an estimated age of 82 million years. It lies at the northernmost end of the chain, and is perched at the outer slope of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench. Like the rest of the Emperor seamounts, it was formed by hotspot volcanism, grew to become an island, and has since subsided to below sea level, all while being carried first north and now northwest by the motion of the Pacific Plate. Meiji Seamount is thus an example of a particular type of seamount known as a guyot, and some publications refer to it as "Meiji Guyot".
Meiji Seamount will eventually be destroyed by subduction once it is carried into the trench by the ongoing plate motion, although this will not fully occur for several million more years if the current rate of motion is maintained. Although Meiji is the oldest extant seamount in the Hawaii-Emperor chain, the question of whether there were older seamounts in the chain which have already been subducted into the trench remains open, and is the subject of ongoing scientific research.
The seamount was named after the Emperor Meiji of Japan.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Estimating the Age of the Hawaiian Hotspot. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
- Volcano World: The Hawaiian - Emperor Volcanic Chain. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
- Speculations on tectonic origin of the Hawaii hotspot. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
- Did Emperor seamounts subduct?. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
