Temperature of the plume layer beneath the Yellowstone hotspot

Research Article| August 01, 2008 Temperature of the plume layer beneath the Yellowstone hotspot Derek L. Schutt; Derek L. Schutt 1University of Wyoming, Department of Geology and Geophysics, 1000 University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA *Current address: Department of Geosciences, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Colorado 80523-1482, USA. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ken Dueker Ken Dueker 1University of Wyoming, Department of Geology and Geophysics, 1000 University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Derek L. Schutt *Current address: Department of Geosciences, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Colorado 80523-1482, USA. 1University of Wyoming, Department of Geology and Geophysics, 1000 University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA Ken Dueker 1University of Wyoming, Department of Geology and Geophysics, 1000 University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 25 Jan 2008 Revision Received: 26 Apr 2008 Accepted: 01 May 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2008 Geological Society of America Geology (2008) 36 (8): 623–626. https://doi.org/10.1130/G24809A.1 Article history Received: 25 Jan 2008 Revision Received: 26 Apr 2008 Accepted: 01 May 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Derek L. Schutt, Ken Dueker; Temperature of the plume layer beneath the Yellowstone hotspot. Geology 2008;; 36 (8): 623–626. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G24809A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Recent studies show that the Yellowstone hotspot is associated with a plume-like low-velocity pipe that ascends from the transition zone to the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, where the plume is sheared to the southwest by North American plate motion. Rayleigh wave tomography shows this plate-sheared plume layer has an extremely low S wave velocity of 3.8 ± 0.1 km/s at 80 km depth, ~0.15–0.3 km/s lower than the velocity observed beneath normal mid-ocean ridges. To constrain the temperature of the plume layer, a grid search with respect to grain size and temperature is performed to fit the observed Rayleigh wave phase velocities. This search finds that the excess temperature of the plume layer is >55–80 °C at 95% confidence for two different temperature-velocity and two different melt-velocity models, confirming that a thermal mantle plume exists. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Topic: Geological and Geochemical Analysis
Subfield: Geophysics
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences