Home›Open Questions›Do deep mantle plumes feed volcanic hotspots such as Hawaii, or do shallower plate processes explain them?Open QuestionsDo deep mantle plumes feed volcanic hotspots such as Hawaii, or do shallower plate processes explain them?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextEarth and Environment Atlas. "Do deep mantle plumes feed volcanic hotspots such as Hawaii, or do shallower plate processes explain them?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/do-mantle-plumes-exist.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextEarth and Environment Atlas. (n.d.). Do deep mantle plumes feed volcanic hotspots such as Hawaii, or do shallower plate processes explain them?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/do-mantle-plumes-existCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{earthandenvironmentatlas-do-deep-mantle-plumes-feed-volcanic-hots, author = {Earth and Environment Atlas}, title = {Do deep mantle plumes feed volcanic hotspots such as Hawaii, or do shallower plate processes explain them?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/do-mantle-plumes-exist}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXReference and ClassificationDevelopingFactsOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsWhy OpenWell-attestedSince its introduction the plume hypothesis has been repeatedly adapted to fit observed hotspots rather than making firm predictions, and critics have developed a rival plate hypothesis; with the growing number of models the plume concept has been criticized as a weakly defined hypothesis that as a general term is currently neither provable nor refutable. Seismic tomography has produced evidence read as favoring a plume beneath Hawaii and, since 2011, beneath Yellowstone, but the general question stays contested. 1What Would ResolveWell-attestedSeismic imaging of plume conduits from the core-mantle boundary to the surface at multiple hotspots, with resolution good enough that plume and plate explanations make distinguishably different predictions. 1Discipline NeededWell-attestedGeophysics, Seismology 1Open QuestionSince its introduction the plume hypothesis has been repeatedly adapted to fit observed hotspots rather than making firm predictions, and critics have developed a rival plate hypothesis; with the growing number of models the plume concept has been criticized as a weakly defined hypothesis that as a general term is currently neither provable nor refutable. Seismic tomography has produced evidence read as favoring a plume beneath Hawaii and, since 2011, beneath Yellowstone, but the general question stays contested.What would resolve this Seismic imaging of plume conduits from the core-mantle boundary to the surface at multiple hotspots, with resolution good enough that plume and plate explanations make distinguishably different predictions.OpenGeophysics, SeismologyMantle Plume (Wikipedia)Cross-Tradition ConnectionsQuestion OnMantle Plume, Concepts Well-attested Source Mantle Plume (Wikipedia)Sources1. Mantle Plume (Wikipedia)Wikimedia FoundationCriticism section; Seismic tomography sectionView the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year