Plume tectonics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plume tectonics is a relatively new theory in geophysics which studies the movements of Mantle plumes under Tectonic plates at the depth of 2900km in the earth. Japanese geophysicists Fukao Yoshio (深尾良夫 ja:Nagoya University) and Maruyama Shigenori(丸山茂徳, visiting scholar at Stanford University, ja:Tokyo Institute of Technology) have advanced the theory. Fukao studied the internal structure of the Earth with p-wave tomography. Maruyama interpreted Fukao's data in terms of convection in the mantle in 1994. Plate tectonics could not explain all of geological activities, and thus was considered incomplete before Fukao and Maruyama hypothesized plume tectonics.
Nevertheless, this is still a subject of intense debate. Of particular note is the current vigorous debate regarding whether mantle plumes exist or not.
