Anthony Koppers
Professor in Marine Geology, CEOAS, Oregon State University
Director, OSU Argon Geochronology Laboratory
Co-director, OSU Marine and Geology Repository
Chair, IODP JOIDES Resolution Facility Board
Head Database Manager and Webmaster, EarthRef.org

Anthony A.P. KoppersAnthony A.P. Koppers

Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • B.Sc. in Geology, Cum Laude, 1987 - 1988
  • M.Sc. in Isotope Geology, Petrology and Structural Geology, Honors, 1988 - 1993
  • Ph.D. in 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology, Plate Tectonics and Mantle Geochemistry, 1993 - 1998
  • Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Ph.D. Researcher, September 1993 - October 1998
  • Research Associate, May 1998 - October 1998
  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography
  • Visiting NATO scholar, October 1998 - October 1999
  • Post Doctoral Researcher, October 1999 - September 2001
  • Assistant Project Scientist, September 2001 - September 2003
  • Assistant Research Geophysicist, September 2003 - June 2006
  • Associate Research Geophysicist, July 2006 - February 2007
  • Research Associate, March 2007 - present
  • CEOAS, Oregon State University
  • Associate Professor Marine Geology & Geophysics, March 2007 - July 2013
  • Tenured Full Professor Marine Geology & Geophysics, July 2013 - present
  • Organization Geochemical Earth Reference Model Workshop, La Jolla, March 2001
  • Organization Paleomagnetic Workshop Workshop, La Jolla, March 2002
  • Organization Geochemical Earth Reference Model Workshop, Lyon, France, May 2003
  • Organization Seamount Biogeosciences Workshop, La Jolla, March 2006
  • Organization Geochemical Earth Reference Model Workshop, New York, May 2006
  • GERM Editor for Database Management and Cyberinfrastructure, 2001 - 2006
  • Radiometric Taskforce (member) International Commission on Stratigraphy, 2002
  • AGU Index Committee (member) for the Volcanology-Geochemistry-Petrology, 2003 - 2005
  • Seamount Biogeosciences Network (co-director), 2005 - 2010
  • Convener Seamount/SBN session, Fall Meeting AGU, December 2006
  • IODP Hotspot Geodynamics Detailed Planning Group (member), 2006 - 2007
  • NSTA Webseminar "Plate Tectonics Made to Order", November 2006
  • Convener Session on Interoperability Earth Science Databases, Fall Meeting AGU, 2006
  • NSTA Webseminar "Hotspots, Plumes & LIPs: Everything's Coming Up Igneous", 2007
  • NSTA Webseminar "Earth in Reverse: Magnetic Wiggles on the Ocean Floor", 2008
  • Organization SERC/ERESE Teaching Developers Workshop, La Jolla, March 2008
  • Organization SEAMOUNTS'09 Workshop, La Jolla, March 2009
  • IODP US Advisory Committee (USAC member), 2009 - 2011
  • IODP US Advisory Committee (USAC chair), 2011 - 2013
  • Guest Editor Oceanography, Mountains in the Sea, March 2010
  • Lead Theme Editor G3, Studies of Seamount Trails: Implications for Geodynamic Mantle Flow Models and the Geochemical Evolution of Primary Hotspots, 2011 - 2015
  • OSU Argon Geochronology Lab (co-director), 2007 - 2012
  • IODP JOIDES Resolution Facilities Board (JRFB member), 2014 - 2015
  • Webmaster and Database Management for EarthRef.org, 2000 - present
  • MagIC Metadata Committee (chair) for the Paleomagnetic Archival Group, 2002 - present
  • OSU Argon Geochronology Lab (director), 2012 - present
  • OSU Marine and Geology Repository (co-director), 2010 - present
  • Theme Co-Editor G3, Wilson Cycles and the Formation of Marginal Basins: Rifting Dynamics and Mantle Evolution from Mid-ocean Ridge Creation to Extinction, 2015 - present
  • IODP JOIDES Resolution Facilities Board (JRFB chair), 2015 - present
  • Organization Paleomagnetic MagIC Workshop, La Jolla, January 2017
  • Organization Biannual International Curators Workshop, Corvallis, April 2017
  • Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • A.A.P. Koppers, 1992. On the Migmatites of the West Uusimaa Granulite Complex, SW Finland. M.Sc. Thesis, Free University Amsterdam, Department Petrology and Isotope Geology.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, 1992. P-T-t Paths in Metamorphic Belts: obtaining Prograde and Peak Metamorphic P-T-t Conditions from Garnets. M.Sc. Thesis, Free University Amsterdam, Department Petrology and Isotope Geology.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, 1993. Isotopic Characterization of Oceanic Basalts and Identification of their Mantle Components. M.Sc. Thesis, Free University Amsterdam, Department Petrology and Isotope Geology.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, 1998. Geochronology and Isotope Geochemistry of Western Pacific Seamounts: Implications for Absolute Pacific Plate motions and the motion of Hotspots. Ph.D. Thesis, Free University Amsterdam, Department Petrology and Isotope Geology, 263 pages. See the summary at the bottom of this page ...
  • 1995 - 1999
  • A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel, D.M. Christie, J.J. Dieu and M.S. Pringle (1995). Sr-Nd-Pb Isotope Geochemistry of Leg 144 West Pacific Guyots: Implications for the Geochemical Evolution of the "SOPITA" Mantle Anomaly. in: Haggerty, J.A., I. Premoli-Silva, F. Rack, M.K. McNutt (Editors). Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, 144, 535-545.   PDF
  • J.R. Wijbrans, M.S. Pringle, A.A.P. Koppers and R. Scheveers (1995). Argon Geochronology of Small Samples using the VULKAAN argon laserprobe. Proceedings Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, 98: 185-218.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel, J.R. Wijbrans and M.S. Pringle (1998). The Magellan seamount trail: implications for Cretaceous hotspot volcanism and absolute Pacific plate motion. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 163: 53-68.
  • 2000 - 2004
  • A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel and J.R. Wijbrans (2000). Dating Crystalline Groundmass separates of Altered Cretaceous Seamount Basalts by the 40Ar/39Ar Incremental Heating Technique. Chemical Geology, 166: 139-158.
  • W.W. Sager and A.A.P. Koppers (2000). Rapid Late Cretaceous polar wander of the Pacific plate: a true polar wander event? Science, 287: 455-459.
  • S.R. Hart, H. Staudigel, A.A.P. Koppers, J. Blusztajn, E. T. Baker, R. Workman, M. Jackson, E. Hauri, M. Kurz, K. Sims, D. Fornari, A. Saal and S. Lyons (2000). Vailulu'u Undersea Volcano: The New Samoa. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol 1, Papernumber 2000GC000108.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, J. Phipps Morgan, W.J. Morgan and H. Staudigel (2001). Testing the fixed hotspot hypothesis using 40Ar/39Ar age progressions along seamount trails. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 185: 237-252.
  • A.A.P. Koppers (2002). ArArCALC -- software for 40Ar/39Ar age calculations. Computers and Geosciences. 28, 605-619. http://earthref.org/ArArCALC/
  • P. Solheid, C. Constable, A.A.P. Koppers, M. Jackson and S. Banerjee (2002). Research-oriented database for rock and paleomagnetism to be developed. EOS 83-48: 560, News Item 26 November 2002.
  • H. Staudigel, J. Helly, A.A.P. Koppers, H. Shaw, B. McDonough, A. Hofmann, C. Langmuir, K. Lehnert, B. Sarbas, L. Derry and A. Zindler (2003). Electronic data publication in geochemistry. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: paper number: 2002GC000314.
  • J. Helly, H. Staudigel and A.A.P. Koppers (2003). Scalable models of data sharing in Earth sciences. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: paper number: 2002GC000318.
  • L. Tauxe, C. Constable, C.L. Johnson, A.A.P. Koppers, W.R. Miller and H. Staudigel (2003). Paleomagnetism of the southwestern U.S.A. recorded by 0-5 Ma igneous rocks. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: paper number: 2002GC000343.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel, M.S. Pringle and J.R. Wijbrans (2003). Short-lived and discontinuous intra-plate volcanism in the South Pacific: hotspots or extensional volcanism? Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: paper number: 2003GC000533.
  • S.R. Hart, H., Staudigel, R. Workman, A.A.P. Koppers and A.P. Girard (2003). A fluorescein tracer release experiment in the hydrothermally active crater of Vailulu’u volcano, Samoa. Journal of Geophysical Research: paper number: 2002JB001902. 11 pp.
  • H. Staudigel, S. Hart, A.A.P. Koppers, C. Constable, M. Kurz, R. Workman and E. Baker (2003). Hydrothermal venting at Vailulu’u seamount: the smoking end of the Samoan chain. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: paper number: 2002GC000314. 17 pp.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel and R.A. Duncan (2003). High resolution 40Ar/39Ar dating of the oldest oceanic basement basalts in the western Pacific basin. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: paper number: 2003GC000574. 22 pp.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, R.A. Duncan and B. Steinberger (2004). Implications of a nonlinear 40Ar/39Ar age progression along the Louisville seamount trail for models of fixed and moving hotspots. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: paper number: 2003GC000671. 22 pp.
  • 2005 - 2009
  • A.A.P. Koppers and H. Staudigel (2005). Asynchronous Bends in Pacific Seamount Trails: A Case for Extensional Volcanism? Science 307: 904-907.
  • H. Staudigel, S.R. Hart, A. Pile, B.E. Bailey, E.T. Baker, S. Brooke, D.P. Connelly, L. Haucke, C.R. German, I. Hudson, D. Jones, A.A.P. Koppers, J. Konter, R. Lee, T.W. Pietsch, B.M. Tebo, A.S. Templeton, R. Zierenberg and C.M. Young (2006). Vailulu’u Seamount, Samoa: Life and Death on an Active Submarine Volcano. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences, 103(17), 6448-6453. ARTICLE# 06-00830.
  • N. Hirano and A.A.P. Koppers (2007). Response [3] to Another Nail in Which Coffin? Science 315(5808), 40.
  • M. Jackson, S.R. Hart, A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel, J. Konter,  J. Blusztajn, M. Kurz and J.A. Russell (2007). The return of subducted continental crust in Samoan lavas. Nature 448, 684-687, doi:10.1038/nature06048.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, J.A. Russell, M. Jackson, H. Staudigel, J. Konter and S.R. Hart (2008). Samoa reinstated as a primary hotspot trail. Geology 36(6), 435-438, doi:10.1130/G24630A.1.
  • N. Hirano, A.A.P. Koppers, A. Takahashi, T. Fujiwara and M. Nakanishi (2008). Seamounts, knolls and petit-spot monogenetic volcanoes on the subducting Pacific Plate. Basin Research 20, 543-553, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2117.2008.00363.x.
  • J.G. Konter, B.B. Hanan, J. Blichert-Toft, A.A.P. Koppers, T. Plank and H. Staudigel (2008). One hundred million years of mantle geochemical history suggest the retiring of mantle plumes is premature. Earth Planetary Science Letters 275, 285–295, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.08.023.
  • K.P. Lawrence, L. Tauxe, H. Staudigel, C.G. Constable, A.A.P. Koppers, W.C. McIntosh and C.L. Johnson (2008). Paleomagnetic field properties at high southern latitude. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2008GC002072.
  • A.A.P. Koppers (2009). Pacific Region. In: Encyclopedia of Islands, G. R. Gillespie and D.A. Clague, Berkeley, University of California Press, 702-715.
  • P.R. Renne, A.L. Deino, M.T. Heizler, S.R. Hemming, A.A.P. Koppers, D. Phillips, B.S. Singer, B.D. Turrin, I.M. Villa, M. Villeneuve and J.R. Wijbrans (2009). Data Reporting Norms for 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology, Quaternary Geology 4, 346–352, doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2009.06.005.
  • 2010 - 2014
  • A.A.P. Koppers and A.B. Watts (2010). Intraplate Seamounts as a Window into Deep Earth Processes. Oceanography 23(1): 42-57.
  • A.B. Watts, A.A.P. Koppers and D.P. Robinson (2010). Seamount Subduction and Earthquakes. Oceanography 23(1): 166-173.
  • Staudigel, H., A.A.P. Koppers, T.A. Plank and B.B. Hanan (2010). Seamounts in the Subduction Factory. Oceanography 23(1): 176-181
  • H. Staudigel, C.L. Moyer, M.O. Garcia, A. Malahoff, D.A. Clague and A.A.P. Koppers (2010). Loihi Seamount. Oceanography 23(1): 72-73.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel, S.R. Hart, C. Young and J.G. Konter (2010). Vailulu’u Seamount. Oceanography 23(1): 164-165.
  • H. Staudigel, A.A.P. Koppers, J.W. Lavelle, T.J. Pitcher and T.M. Shank (2010). Defining the Word "Seamount". Oceanography 23(1): 20-21.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel and R. Minnett (2010). Seamount Catalog: Seamount Morphology, Maps, and Data Files. Oceanography 23(1): 36-37.
  • M.G. Jackson, S.R. Hart, J.G. Konter, A.A.P. Koppers, H. Staudigel, M.D. Kurz, J. Blusztajn and J.M. Sinton (2010). The Samoan hotspot track on a “hotspot highway”: Implications for mantle plumes and a deep Samoan mantle source. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 11(12), doi:10.1029/2010gc003232.
  • D.J. Wright, J. Roberts, D. Fenner, J.R. Smith, A.A.P. Koppers, D. Naar, E.R. Hirsch, L.W. Clift and K.R. Hogrefe (2011). Seamounts, ridges, and reef habitats of American Samoa, in P.T. Harris and E.K. Baker (eds.): Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat: GeoHab Atlas of Seafloor Geomorphic Features and Benthic Habitats, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
  • C. Timm, K. Hoernle, R. Werner, F. Hauff, P.v. den Bogaard, P. Michael, M.F. Coffin and A.A.P. Koppers (2011). Age and geochemistry of the oceanic Manihiki Plateau, SW Pacific: New evidence for a plume origin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.01.025.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, J.A. Russell, J. Roberts, M.G. Jackson, J.G. Konter, D.J. Wright, H. Staudigel and S.R. Hart (2011). Age Systematics of Two Young En Echelon Samoan Volcanic Trails. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2010GC003438.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, M.D. Gowen, L.E. Colwell, J.S. Gee, P.F. Lonsdale, J.J. Mahoney and R.A. Duncan (2011). New 40Ar/39Ar Age Progression for the Louisville Hotspot Trail and Implications for Inter-Hotspot Motion. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2011GC003804.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, T. Yamazaki, J. Geldmacher, J.S. Gee, N. Pressling, H. Hiroyuki and IODP Expedition 330 Science Party (2012). Limited Latitudinal Mantle Plume Motion for the Louisville Hotspot. Nature Geoscience. doi: 10.1038/NGEO1638.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, T. Yamazaki, J. Geldmacher and IODP Expedition 330 Science Party (2013). IODP Expedition 330: Drilling the Louisville Seamount Trail in the SW Pacific. Scientific Drilling 15: 11-22. doi: 10.2204/iodp.sd.15.02.2013.
  • Cromwell, G., L. Tauxe, H. Staudigel, C.G. Constable, A.A.P. Koppers and R.B. Pedersen (2013). In search of long term hemispheric asymmetry in the geomagnetic field: Results from high northern latitudes. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. doi: 10.1002/ggge.20174.
  • Sager, W.W., J. Zhang, J. Korenaga, T. Sano, A.A.P. Koppers, M. Widdowson and J.J. Mahoney (2013). An immense shield volcano within the Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau, northwest Pacific Ocean. Nature Geoscience, doi:10.1038/ngeo1934.
  • O’Connor, J.M., B. Steinberger, M. Regelous, A.A.P. Koppers, J.R. Wijbrans, K.M. Haase, P. Stoffers, W. Jokat, and D. Garbe-Schönberg (2013). Constraints on past plate and mantle motion from new ages for the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. doi:10.1002/ggge.20267.
  • 2015 - 2019
  • Vanderkluysen, L., J.J. Mahoney, A.A.P. Koppers, C. Beier, M. Regelous, J.S. Gee and P.F. Lonsdale (2014). Louisville Seamount Chain: Petrogenetic processes and geochemical evolution of the mantle source. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. doi: 10.1002/2014GC005288.
  • A.A.P. Koppers and Sager, W.W., 2014. Large-Scale and Long-Term Volcanism on Oceanic Lithosphere, Developments in Marine Geology, pp. 553-597
  • Li, C.F., Xu, X., Lin, J., Sun, Z., Zhu, J., Yao, Y.J., Zhao, X.X., Liu, Q.S., Kulhanek, D.K., Wang, J., Song, T.R., Zhao, J.F., Qiu, N., Guan, Y.X., Zhou, Z.Y., Williams, T., Bao, R., Briais, A., Brown, E.A., Chen, Y.F., Clift, P.D., Colwell, F.S., Dadd, K.A., Ding, W.W., Almeida, I.H., Huang, X.L., Hyun, S.M., Jiang, T., A.A.P. Koppers, Li, Q.Y., Liu, C.L., Liu, Z.F., Nagai, R.H., Peleo-Alampay, A., Su, X., Tejada, M.L.G., Trinh, H.S., Yeh, Y.C., Zhang, C.L., Zhang, F. and Zhang, G.L., 2014. Ages and magnetic structures of the South China Sea constrained by deep tow magnetic surveys and IODP Expedition 349. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 15(12): 4958-4983, doi: 10.1002/2014gc005567
  • Staudigel, H. and A.A.P. Koppers, 2015. Chapter 22: Seamounts and Island Building, The Encyclopedia of Volcanism. Elsevier, pp. 17
  • Meco, J., A.A.P. Koppers, Miggins, D.P., Lomoschitz, A. and Betancort, J.-F., 2015. The Canary record of the evolution of the North Atlantic Pliocene: New 40Ar/39Ar ages and some notable palaeontological evidence. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 435: 53-69, doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.05.027
  • Li, C.F., Li, J.B., Ding, W.W., Franke, D., Yao, Y.J., Shi, H.S., Pang, X., Cao, Y., Lin, J., Kulhanek, D.K., Williams, T., Bao, R., Briais, A., Brown, E.A., Chen, Y.F., Clift, P.D., Colwell, F.S., Dadd, K.A., Hernandez-Almeida, I., Huang, X.L., Hyun, S., Jiang, T., A.A.P. Koppers, Li, Q.Y., Liu, C.L., Liu, Q.S., Liu, Z.F., Nagai, R.H., Peleo-Alampay, A., Su, X., Sun, Z., Tejada, M.L.G., Trinh, H.S., Yeh, Y.C., Zhang, C.L., Zhang, F., Zhang, G.L. and Zhao, X.X., 2015. Seismic stratigraphy of the central South China Sea basin and implications for neotectonics. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, 120(3): 1377-1399, doi: 10.1002/2014jb011686
  • Jackson, M., Koga, K., Price, A., Konter, J., A.A.P. Koppers, Finlayson, V., Konrad, K., Hauri, E., Kylander‐Clark, A. and Kelley, K.A., 2015. Deeply dredged submarine HIMU glasses from the Tuvalu Islands, Polynesia: Implications for volatile budgets of recycled oceanic crust. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 16(9): 3,210-3,234, doi:10.1002/2015GC005966
  • Price, A.A., Jackson, M.G., Blichert-Toft, J., Blusztajn, J., Conatser, C.S., Konter, J.G., A.A.P. Koppers and Kurz, M.D., 2016. Geochemical evidence in the northeast Lau Basin for subduction of the Cook-Austral volcanic chain in the Tonga Trench. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 17(5): 1694-1724, doi: 10.1002/2015gc006237
  • Shah, J., A.A.P. Koppers, Leitner, M., Leonhardt, R., Muxworthy, A.R., Heunemann, C., Bachtadse, V., Ashley, J.A.D. and Matzka, J., 2016. Palaeomagnetic evidence for the persistence or recurrence of geomagnetic main field anomalies in the South Atlantic. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 441: 113-124, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.02.039
  • Balbas, A., A.A.P. Koppers, Kent, D.V., Konrad, K. and Clark, P.U., 2016. Identification of the short-lived Santa Rosa geomagnetic excursion in lavas on Floreana Island (Galapagos) by 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. Geology, 44(5), pp.359-362, G37569.1, doi: 10.1130/g37569.1
  • Tauxe, L., Shaar, R., Jonestrask, L., Swanson‐Hysell, N., Minnett, R., A.A.P. Koppers, Constable, C., Jarboe, N., Gaastra, K. and Fairchild, L., 2016. PmagPy: Software package for paleomagnetic data analysis and a bridge to the Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) Database. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi: 10.1002/2016GC006307
  • Tejada, M.L.G., Geldmacher, J., Hauff, F., Heaton, D., A.A.P. Koppers, Garbe-Schönberg, D., Hoernle, K., Heydolph, K. and Sager, W.W., 2016. Geochemistry and age of Shatsky, Hess, and Ojin Rise seamounts: Implications for a connection between the Shatsky and Hess Rises. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 185: 302-327, doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2016.04.006
  • Reports and Publications, Non-Refereed
  • Expedition 324 Scientists (2010). Testing plume and plate models of ocean plateau formation at Shatsky Rise, northwest Pacific Ocean. IODP Preliminary Report 324, doi:10.2204/iodp.pr.324.2010.
  • W.W. Sager, T. Sano, J. Geldmacher and Expedition 324 Scientists (2010). Proceedings IODP 324: Tokyo (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.), doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.324.2010.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, T. Sano, J.H. Natland, M. Widdowson, R. Almeev, A.R. Greene, D.T. Murphy, A. Delacour, M. Miyoshi, K. Shimizu, S. Li, N. Hirano, J. Geldmacher and Expedition 324 Scientists (2010). Massive basalt flows on the southern flank of Tamu Massif, Shatsky Rise: a reappraisal of ODP Site 1213 basement units. In W.W. Sager, T. Sano, J. Geldmacher and the Expedition 324 Scientists, Proc. IODP, 324: Tokyo (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.) doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.324.109.2010.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, T. Yamazaki and J. Geldmacher (2010). Louisville Seamount Trail: implications for geodynamic mantle flow models and the geochemical evolution of primary hotspots. IODP Science Prospectus 330, doi:10.2204/iodp.sp.330.2010
  • Expedition 330 Scientists (2011). Louisville Seamount Trail: implications for geodynamic mantle flow models and the geochemical evolution of primary hotspots. IODP Preliminary Report 330, doi:10.2204/iodp.pr.330.2011.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, T. Yamazaki and J. Geldmacher and IODP Expedition 330 Science Party (2012). Proceedings IODP 330: Tokyo (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.), doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.330.2012.
  • A.A.P. Koppers (2011). Mantle plumes persevere. Nature Geoscience 4(12): 816-817. doi: 10.1038/ngeo1334.
  • A.A.P. Koppers, L. Screaton and Steering Committee (2012). Building U.S. Strategies for 2013-2023 Scientific Ocean Drilling. Workshop Report. April 30-May 2, Denver. Published 15 June 2011. http://iodp-usssp.org/workshop/strategies/
  • Humphries, S.E. and A.A.P. Koppers (2013). Planning for Future Directions of Scientific Ocean Drilling With the D/V JOIDES Resolution. Eos, Vol. 94, No. 26, 25 June 2013.
  • Expedition 349 Scientists (2014). South China Sea Tectonics: Opening of the South China Sea and its implications for southeast Asian tectonics, climates, and deep mantle processes since the late Mesozoic. IODP Preliminary Report 349, doi:10.2204/iodp.pr.349.2011.
  • Humphris, S.E. and A.A.P. Koppers (2015). Scientific Ocean Drilling Charts its Course. Project Update Eos, 96, doi:10.1029/2015EO040947. Published on 15 December 2015 https://eos.org/project-updates/scientific-ocean-drilling-charts-new-course
  • 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology and Isotope Geochemistry of the West Pacific Seamount Province: Implications for Absolute Pacific Plate Motion and the Motion of Hotspots (1998)
    by Anthony A.P. Koppers
    Laboratory of Isotope Geology
    Department of Petrology and Isotope Geology
    Faculty of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit
    De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam
    The Netherlands.
    Supervisors
  • Hubert Staudigel (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
  • Jan Wijbrans (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
  • Committee
  • Bob Duncan (Oregon State University)
  • Jason Phipps Morgan (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
  • Malcolm Pringle (SURCC)
  • Gareth Davies (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
  • Financial Support
  • Netherlands Foundation of Earth Sciences Research (GOA). Part of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research (NWO). Project 750.60.005
  • National Science Foundation (NSF). Project OCE 91-02183
  • Summary and Scope
  • Hotspots and the associated intra-plate volcanism producing seamount trails are amongst the most significant observations supporting plate tectonics. The azimuths and age progressions of these seamount trails provide the only means to determine absolute plate motions with respect to an independent reference frame of “fixed” hotspots. However, the fixity and continuity of hotspots are not truly established since most seamount trails older than 25 Ma only have been studied on a reconnaissance level. Many questions remain about hotspot volcanism, concerning (1) the volcanic processes producing seamount edifices, (2) the timing, typical time ranges and possible quiescent periods in volcanic activity, (3) the time-space relationships within seamount trails and the modeled absolute plate motion from these trails, (4) the consequences of the crossing of younger hotspot trails over older hotspot trails, (5) the isotopic and geochemical evolution of hotspots, and (6) the fixity, continuity and longevity of individual hotspots.




  • In this thesis, nine seamount trails of the West Pacific Seamount Province (WPSP) are the focus of a study of their 40Ar/39Ar geochronology and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope geochemistry. This group of seamount trails ranges in age from 70 to 140 Ma and will be used to analyze (1) Cretaceous hotspot volcanism in the Pacific, (2) the tectonic and geochemical relationship between the WPSP hotspots and the currently-active hotspots in the South Pacific Isotopic and Thermal Anomaly (SOPITA), and (3) the stage poles of absolute Pacific plate motion for the last 140 Myr. In these analyses, in particular, the (non-)fixity and longevity of these Pacific hotspots will be addressed.
  • Rurutu RR1310 Cruise to the Tuvalu-Samoa Seamounts
    This scientific expedition RR1310 on the Roger Revelle aims to address the hypothesis stating that the Rurutu hotspot in French Polynesia formed a long-lived seamount trail that extends at least into the Tuvalu area and contains a pronounced bend synchronous with the Hawaii-Emperor bend.

    Walvis Ridge MV1203 Cruise
    During this expedition we mapped 50 seamounts and placed in total 62 dredges along the southwest portion of the Walvis Ridge, which begins on the African continent and extends to near the mid-Atlantic Ridge.

    IODP Expedition 330
    Louisville Seamount Trail

    We drilled five underwater volcanoes to test how much the Louisville mantle plume may have moved over the last 80 million years and whether it moved coherently with the Hawaii hotspot.

    ALIA Expedition around Samoa
    Abstract
    Related Publications
    ERDA Data Files
    Participants
    News Archive
    R/V Kilo Moana

    Mountains in the Sea, Special Oceanography Volume
    This special volume is the most up-to-date synthesis of seamount sciences, covering all major scientific issues surrounding seamounts, including their relevance to mantle and lithospheric processes, their volcanic evolution and hydrologic systems, their oceanography and micro- and macro-biology, geochemistry, fisheries and mineral resources, and their conservation.

    FeMO3 Dive Cruise 2008
    Shawn Doan and Anthony Koppers are riding the waves of the Pacific for the second time to bring you the latest research surfacing during the third FeMO seagoing expedition to the active vents on Loihi volcano.

    FeMO2 Dive Cruise 2007
    The Iron-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory (FeMO) uses the Loihi Seamount as a natural laboratory for studies of Earth's rust-forming microbial inhabitants to address the basic questions of who they are, how fast do they grow and form rust, where and why do they do it, and what are their environmental impacts?

    Vailulu'u Web Page
    To the Eastside of Ta'u Island an active underwater volcano, named Vailulu'u, is present. This unique seamount already has been the subject of three previous seagoing cruises. Read more about the outcome of these cruises ...

    40Ar/39Ar Geochronology Software
    The program ArArCALC provides an interactive interface to data reduction in 40Ar/39Ar geochronology using Excel 2000-XP-2003 ...

    OSU Argon Geochronology Laboratory
    At our CEOAS laboratory we focus on the 40Ar/39Ar dating of MORB, OIB, LIP, lunar and planetary rocks, hydrothermal minerals and clays. We use our MAP 215-50 and ARGUS VI rare gas mass spectrometers for these analyses and a resistance furnace or CO2 laser for gas extraction.

    TnT2000 Software
    TnT2000 is a MATLAB toolbox for modeling both simple and sophisticated scenarios that mimic the geochemical differentiation of the Earth ...

    OSU Marine Geology Repository
    The marine sediment and rock collection at the OSU Marine Geology Repository comes from all oceans. As of 2011 it contains over 15,500 meters of sediment from almost 6000 cores, more than 9,000 rocks from 500 dredges, 2200 Manganese Nodules and 1500 sediment trap and 700 plankton tow samples.

    Hawaiian Volcanoes Field Trips
    Syllabus 2005 Trip
    Participants 2004 Trip
    Daily Reports Image Galleries
    The Rock Saw
    Anthony gets to work cutting the rocks from dredge 127.  Each sample has to be cut into various shapes for processing, and this is the saw we use to do it.

    Slicing through the Clear Waters
    The clear water around Wallis island makes it easy to see the unique shape of the Kilo Moana's bow.

    Video Archive
    Chief Scientist
  • D/V Joides Resolution: IODP Expedition 330, Louisville Seamount Trail, December 2010 - February 2011 (63 days)
  • R/V Melville: Young Walvis Ridge, February 2012 - March 2012 (49 days)
  • R/V Atlantis: Rio Grande Rise, December 2017 – January 2018 (37 days)
  • Co-Principal Investigator
  • R/V Revelle: AMAT Leg 2, IODP Site Survey, Louisville Seamount Trail, January - March 2006 (36 days)
  • D/V Joides Resolution: IODP Expedition 324, Shatsky Rise Oceanic Plateau, September - October 2009 (63 days)
  • R/V Revelle: Tracing the Rurutu Hotspot, July - August 2013 (35 days)
  • D/V Joides Resolution: IODP Expedition 349, South China Sea, January - March 2014 (63 days)
  • R/V Kilo Moana: Ellice Basin Rifting of LIPS, December 2016 – January 2017 (35 days)
  • Participant
  • R/V Melville: AVON Leg 2, Gilbert Ridge and Tokelau Seamounts, January - March 1999 (43 days)
  • R/V Melville: AVON Leg 3, Samoan Hotspot and the Vailulu'u Underwater Volcano, March 1999 (8 days)
  • Coastguard Polar Sea: DEEPFREEZE, Vailulu’u Revisited, March 2001 (9 days)
  • R/V Kilo Moana: KM0506/ALIA Expedition, Vailulu’u, Nafanua and the Samoan Hotspot, April 2005 (22 days)
  • R/V Kilo Moana: FeMO Expedition, JASON on Loihi Seamount, October 2007 (18 days)
  • R/V Thompson: FeMO Expedition, JASON on Loihi Seamount, October 2008 (18 days)
  • R/V Kairei (Japan): KR1604 Expedition, Ontong Java Plateau, January – March 2015 (16 days)
  • Onshore Scientist
  • ODP Guyot and Atoll Drilling Legs 143 and 144, Isotope Geochemistry
  • ODP Mariana Trench Leg 185, 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology
  • ODP Shatsky Rise Leg 191, 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology
  • Total of 458 Days at Sea
    Researchers
  • Cathy Constable
  • Cornelia Class
  • Shan deSilva
  • Bob Duncan
  • Jeff Gee
  • Joerg Geldmacher
  • Dave Graham
  • Stan Hart
  • John Helly
  • Matt Jackson
  • Adam Kent
  • Jasper Konter
  • John Mahoney
  • Roger Nielsen
  • Jason Phipps Morgan
  • Will Sager
  • Takeshi Sano
  • Ron Shaar
  • Hubert Staudigel
  • Lisa Tauxe
  • Paul Wessel
  • Toshi Yamazaki
  • Students
  • Jamie Russell (Masters co-advisor, 2007)
  • Lynn Oschmann (PhD co-advisor, 2007)
  • Lauren Colwell (REU student, 2008)
  • Molly Lindle (REU student, 2008)
  • Joanna Rose (Masters advisor, 2015)
  • Julia Klath (Senior Thesis, 2015)
  • Chris Conatser (IDES student, 2015)
  • Andrea Balbas (PhD co-advisor, 2016)
  • Karissa Vermillion (REU student, 2016)
  • Susan Schnur (PhD advisor, Ongoing)
  • Daniel Heaton (PhD advisor, Ongoing)
  • Kevin Konrad (PhD co-advisor, Ongoing)
  • Peter Davidson (PhD advisor, Ongoing)
  • Post Doctoral Researchers
  • Naoto Hirano (Advisor, 2007)
  • Chuang Xuan (Co-Advisor, 2011-2013)
  • Thesis and Post Doctoral Advisers of Anthony Koppers
  • Henk Helmers (M.Sc.)
  • Jan Wijbrans (Ph.D.)
  • Hubert Staudigel (Ph.D. and post-doctoral)
  • Jason Phipps Morgan (post-doctoral)