| NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 1, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 17, 2024 |
| Award Number: | 1912934 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Gail Christeson
gchriste@nsf.gov (703)292-2952 OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2025 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $309,050.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $309,050.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2021 = $106,341.00 FY 2022 = $88,981.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2425 CAMPUS RD SINCLAIR RM 1 HONOLULU HI US 96822-2247 (808)956-7800 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1680 East-West Rd Honolulu HI US 96822-2234 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Marine Geology and Geophysics |
| Primary Program Source: |
01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Earth?s oceans contain a significant number of volcanic structures, many of which remain unexplored and/or unexplained. Some of these structures form chains of progressively older volcanoes, known as seamount trails, which were originally thought to result from Earth?s tectonic plates moving over a fixed ?hot? spot in the mantle, producing melt that builds the volcanoes in sequence over time. In the commonly accepted explanation for this volcanic activity, a rising mantle plume delivers material and heat that produce the melt that constructs the volcanoes. In modeling such dynamics, the initial arrival of the plume ?head? generates an unusually large amount of melt represented by a large igneous province, while the plume tail generates an age-progressive chain of volcanoes that record the motion of the tectonic plate since the initial eruption of the hotspot. This understanding has led to the fundamental definition of the motions of Earth?s plates. However, in the case of the most voluminous large igneous province - the Ontong-Java Plateau in the western Pacific - a volcanic seamount trail that should be created by a plume tail has not yet been confirmed. The Louisville hotspot has been proposed as a possible candidate hotspot emerging from the Ontong-Java Plateau and generating the Louisville seamount chain, however current models for plate motion suggest a mismatch between the two. A close look at the way plate motion models for the Pacific Plate have been constructed back to the age of the Ontong-Java Plateau (~120 Ma) suggests that some of the volcanic structures, and assumptions used, introduce sufficient uncertainty to merit a reassessment of plate motion models prior to 70 Ma. Alternative plate motion models may allow for a Louisville and Ontong-Java Plateau relationship. This model is testable by studying an alternative hotspot track?with a continuous record of volcanism extending back to 120 Ma?that has recently been recognized. Results have significant implications for understanding tectonic plate motion, as well as the relationship between large igneous provinces and hotspot tracks. This project will have a significant training component for future scientists: the project will include an at-sea rock sampling expedition that will provide seagoing experience to 7 undergraduates from 3 institutions with significant under-represented student populations, 2 graduate students, 1 postdoctoral investigator, and 3 early career scientists. Post-expedition analytical work will define a significant part of the graduate students? advanced degree work and an important part of the work of one postdoctoral investigator.
The primary objective of this study is to improve our understanding of (absolute) plate motion and the relation to and evolution of plume-derived hotspot tracks. In current absolute plate motion models, the time period prior to 70 Ma heavily relies on atypical volcanic structures that do not clearly relate to long-lived hotspot tracks, including: 1) Mid-Pacific Mountains, Line Islands; 2) Shatsky, Hess Rise, Musician Seamounts, Wentworth Seamounts; and 3) Wake Seamounts, Marshall Islands, Magellan Seamounts. Reassessing new and existing data from the Mid- and West-Pacific suggests only the last of these groups may faithfully represent absolute plate motion. A preliminary (based on sparse existing data) absolute plate motion model suggests that these seamounts could be related to the current South Pacific hotspots of Samoa and Rurutu (Arago). In this project, we will test the hypotheses that 1) Wake-Marshall-Magellan relate to Samoa and Rurutu (Arago) hotspots, and that 2) the plate motion model that can be derived from the new data relates Louisville with the Ontong-Java Plateau. These hypotheses will be tested by sampling the Wake-Marshall-Magellan seamounts with a 37-day dredging expedition. Rock samples will be analyzed for their major, trace element and isotopic compositions, and their ages will be determined, in order to properly trace the Samoa and Rurutu (Arago) hotspots into the West Pacific. The resulting hotspot tracks will be used to construct a new (absolute) plate motion model, particularly for the period prior to 70 Ma, and this model will be used to evaluate the potential connection between Louisville and the Ontong-Java Plateau.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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