New paper argues history, not mantle plume, powers Yellowstone

A new geological study challenges the dominant 'mantle plume' theory, suggesting Yellowstone's volcanic power stems from ancient tectonic history. | Contesto: cronaca

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• New paper argues history, not mantle plume, powers Yellowstone

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The immense volcanic power of Yellowstone National Park, long attributed to a deep-seated 'mantle plume' of hot rock rising from the Earth's core, may instead be fueled by the lingering tectonic history of a long-vanished oceanic plate, according to a new scientific paper. The research, published this week, proposes that the remnants of the Farallon Plate, which was forced beneath North America tens of millions of years ago, are creating a unique pathway for hot material to reach the surface beneath the iconic caldera. For decades, the prevailing explanation for Yellowstone's supervolcanic nature has been the mantle plume model. This theory posits a stationary column of exceptionally hot material ascending from the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle, burning through the North American tectonic plate as it moves westward. This model neatly explains the track of progressively older volcanic calderas stretching from present-day Yellowstone across Idaho to Oregon, a line known as the Snake River Plain. The plume was thought to be the fixed heat source, with the continent sliding over it. The new hypothesis offers a radically different narrative rooted in subduction—the process where one tectonic plate dives beneath another. The Farallon Plate was once a vast oceanic plate that subducted under North America's western edge. According to the study's authors, a fragment of this plate may have become trapped and stalled deep in the mantle beneath the continent. As this cold, dense slab slowly heats up and destabilizes over eons, it could trigger complex mantle flows that draw hot material from a broad, shallow reservoir, funneling it upward to weaken the crust precisely where Yellowstone sits today. This 'slab-driven' theory addresses several persistent puzzles that the plume model struggles with. Seismic imaging has failed to conclusively identify the classic, narrow plume structure extending deep into the mantle beneath Yellowstone. Furthermore, the chemical signature of Yellowstone's lavas suggests the erupting material is not pristine, deep-mantle rock as a plume would bring, but rather material that has been modified by earlier subduction processes. The...

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Categoria: cronaca