Ontong Java Plateau formed by a thermochemical mantle plume (opens in new tab)

The Ontong Java Plateau, mainly emplaced during the Early Cretaceous on the Pacific Plate, is the most voluminous extant oceanic plateau. The exceptional volume and flux of magma that formed this plateau is widely thought to result from melting induced by a hot, buoyant mantle plume head; however, a purely thermal plume predicts uplift to above sea level, inconsistent with the plateau’s mostly submarine emplacement. An alternative formation mechanism is rapid seafloor spreading inducing decom...