Abstract
BATHYMETRIC data and side-scan sonar images collected near the southern East Pacific Rise between 15° and 19° S1, 2 have revealed many seamounts on the west flank of the rise, most of which are organized into chains running perpendicular to the rise axis. The number of seamounts of >5 km diameter is at least twice that expected for average East Pacific sea floor3. The formation of numerous, small (<2,500 m in relief) seamounts in ocean basins has been a subject of study for many years3–10, yet we have little understanding of how magma is generated and supplied to build the seamounts. Here we report that the production of seamounts in closely spaced (20–25 km), adjacent seamount chains is negatively correlated, suggesting that the chains share common sources. The existence of closely spaced, long-lived (>5 Myr), linear seamount chains and the tendency for fresh lava flows to be found primarily at the near-ridge ends of the chains suggest that there are plume-like sources in the upper mantle, which are relatively stationary, active for extended periods and affected by adjacent sources.
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Shen, Y., Scheirer, D., Forsyth, D. et al. Trade-off in production between adjacent seamount chains near the East Pacific Rise. Nature 373, 140–143 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/373140a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/373140a0
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