Abstract
THE Pacific ocean basin is attributed to a single, continuously active ridge system which is believed still to be active today in the eastern Pacific, although much of the eastern flank of the ridge and parts of the ridge itself have been subducted into a fossil trench along the west coast of North America and active trench regions such as the Aleutian trench and the Peru-Chile trench. One problem with this model is the present activity on the island of Hawaii, which according to the model is sitting in the centre of a stable plate. One explanation is based on Wilson's proposal1 that the linear ridges in the Pacific were formed as the crust moved over a localized “hot spot” in the asthenosphere or upper mantle, but the physical problems involved in creating and maintaining such localized “hot spots” over millions of years have largely gone unanswered. Although a few workers remain sceptical (see ref. 2), acceptance of the theory has been widespread.
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References
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HANDSCHUMACHER, D. Formation of the Emperor Seamount Chain. Nature 244, 150–152 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/244150a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/244150a0
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