EarthRef.org Digital Archive (ERDA) -- Tumult in Samoa

Description
Is the Samoan volcanic chain the result of a hotspot or plume? Or not? Argued for decades, the discovery of volcanic activity at Vailulu'u seamount certainly supports the hotspot/plume model. Vailulu'u anchors the east end of the Samoan chain, much as Loihi anchors the Hawaiian chain's east end. The Samoan volcanic centers get older to westward, and are aligned with Pacific plate motion. This trend of aging is broken only by the voluminous young rejuvenated volcanism on Savai¿i, a large island some 370 km west of Vailulu'u. Volcanism all along the chain has characteristic and unusual Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic signatures, affirming a common Samoan pedigree. However, in this keynote presentation during the First SBN Workshop Stan Hart and Hubert Staudigel discuss a completely different aspect of Vailulu'u seamount, namely its summit crater which hosts active hydrothermal venting, with a power output of some 600 megawatts (measured by a dye release experiment). The crater waters are remarkably high in manganese, iron, helium-3 and particulates, and a resurgent volcanic cone ~300 meters high has grown in the crater since 2001. The hydrothermal power drives a remarkably complex and dynamic circulation system in and surrounding the summit crater.

Project -- Meetings and Workshops -- SBN Workshops
The goal of the Seamount Biogeosciences Network (SBN) is to bring together all the diverse science disciplines involved in seamount research, to communicate about and discuss seamount science, and to explore innovative ways to network amongst the diverse communities working on seamounts.