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Contrasting volcanism in Hawaiʻi and the Galápagos

By: , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118852538.ch2

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Abstract

The archipelagos of Hawai‘i and the Galápagos originated at mantle hotspots, yet the volcanoes that make up the island chains differ in most respects. Some of the most important differences include the dynamics of magma supply, characteristics of magma storage and transport, morphology, and compositional and structural evolution. Of particular significance in the Galápagos is the lack of well-developed rift zones, which may be related to higher rates of pre-eruptive inflation compared to Hawai‘i, and the absence of widespread flank instability—a common feature of Hawai‘i's volcanoes. The close proximity of the Galápagos to a mid-ocean-ridge system may account for many of the differences between Hawaiian and Galápagos volcanoes. The Galápagos archipelago is built on young, thin oceanic crust, which might allow for contemporaneous growth of numerous volcanoes, and its volcanoes are fed by a mix of plume and asthenospheric melt sources. Hawaiian volcanoes, in contrast, grew in the middle of the Pacific Plate on older, thicker crust, where localized changes in mantle and lithosphere structure and composition did not exert dominant control over volcano evolution.

Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title Contrasting volcanism in Hawaiʻi and the Galápagos
DOI 10.1002/9781118852538.ch2
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher AGU Monograph
Contributing office(s) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center
Description 22 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Monograph
Larger Work Title The Galápagos: A Natural Laboratory for the Earth Sciences
First page 5
Last page 26
Other Geospatial Hawaii and Galapagos
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details