EarthRef.org Digital Archive (ERDA) -- Age of Hawaiian-Emperor Volcanoes as a Function of Distance from Kilauea

Description
This diagram shows the location of some Hawaiian Islands and Emperor seamounts and their respective age and current magmatic stage. From this information it can be determined that there is a rough linear relationship between the islands and seamounts age and distance from Kilauea. This relationship is even more prominent if the volcano-seamount chain is divided into two parts along the bend at ~15-20 million years ago. Different types of lava erupt during different volcanic life stages, trends in eruption composition can be seen in the age relationships of the different types of lava.

Instructions
By looking at this diagram it is noticeable that the line indicating average plate speed does not coincide perfectly with the actual locations of the volcanoes and seamounts and therefore it can be concluded that there are other factors to consider besides distance from hotspot location and age when determining plate velocity. Possible contributing factors to determining plate motion include changes in plate velocity over time as well as hotspot motion relative to the plate.

Keywords
age of Hawaiian-Emperor chain, Kauai, Nihoa, French Frigate Shoals, Laysan, Northampton, Midway, Colahan, Abbott, Yuryaku, Kimmei, Koko, Ojin, Nintoku, Suiko, Meiji, Tholeiitic lava, Alkalic lava, Rejuvinated lava, Paleontologic data, ERESE

Copyright Owner
Enduring Resources for Earth Science Education (ERESE)

Copyright Description
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