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What is forming the Hawaii Emperor seamount chain?
The Hawaiian Emperor seamount chain is a well-known example of a large seamount and island chain created by hot-spot volcanism. While the hot spot itself is fixed, the plate is moving. So, as the plate moved over the hot spot, the string of islands that make up the Hawaiian Island chain were formed.
What are the Hawaiian Emperor chain of islands and underwater seamounts?
The Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamounts chain extends some 6,000 km from the “Big Island” of Hawaii to the Aleutian Trench off Alaska. The Hawaiian Islands themselves are a very small part of the chain and are the youngest islands in the immense, mostly submarine mountain chain composed of more than 80 volcanoes.
What is special about the Hawaiian Emperor Seamount chain what happens in the mantle?
Rapid southward motion of the Hawaiian plume, followed by a sharp slowdown, causes the sharp bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. The more coherent and rapid the motion deep in the mantle, the more acute its effects are on the shape of seamount chains above,” he said.
How many volcanoes make up the Hawaiian Ridge Emperor seamount chain?
The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. The two sections, the Emperor and Hawaiian strands, are separated by a large L-shaped bend….Hawaiian archipelago.
| Name | Mauna Loa |
|---|---|
| Last eruption | 1984 (active) |
| Coordinates | 19°28′46.3″N 155°36′09.6″W |
| Age (years) | 700,000–1 million |
| Notes | Largest subaerial volcano on Earth |
What is the largest volcano in the world?
Mauna Loa
Rising gradually to more than 4 km (2.5 mi) above sea level, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on our planet. Its submarine flanks descend to the sea floor an additional 5 km (3 mi), and the sea floor in turn is depressed by Mauna Loa’s great mass another 8 km (5 mi).
Why is there a hotspot under Hawaii?
The Hawaiian Islands were literally created from lots of volcanoes—they’re a trail of volcanic eruptions. Hot-spot volcanism can occur in the middle of tectonic plates. That’s unlike traditional volcanism, which takes place at plate boundaries.
Why is the Emperor seamount Hawaii chain bent in the middle?
One explanation is an abrupt change in the motion of the Pacific tectonic plate, the opposite model states southward drift of the mantle plume that has sourced the chain since its beginning 80 million years ago. …
What on Earth is a seamount?
A seamount is an underwater mountain formed by volcanic activity. New estimates suggest that, taken together, seamounts encompass about 28.8 million square kilometers of the Earth’s surface. That’s larger than deserts, tundra, or any other single land-based global habitat on the planet.