Balleny hotspot

The Balleny hotspot is marked 2 on map.

The Balleny hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located in the Southern Ocean. The hotspot created the Balleny Islands, which forms a chain that extends for about 160 km (99 mi) in a northwest-southeast direction.[1] Due to plate tectonics the hot spot was under different parts of the ocean bed in the past, and this has resulted in a chain of seamounts extending from the East Tasman Plateau.[1] Isotopes and trace elements in the volcanic rocks indicated a high U/Pb mantle source. The same pattern is seen in basalt from Tasmania, but not from Victoria.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lanyon, Ruth; Rick Varne and Anthony J. Crawford (University of Tasmania) (June 1993). "Tasmanian Tertiary basalts, the Balleny plume, and opening of the Tasman Sea (southwest Pacific Ocean)". Geology (Geological Society of America) 21 (6): 555–558. Bibcode:1993Geo....21..555L. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1993)021<0555:TTBTBP>2.3.CO;2. Retrieved 2009-12-12.