The current debate over whether mantle plumes exist, and if not what causes melting anomalies (hot spots) is highly topical. Although skepticism concerningthe mantle plume model has existed since its inception in the early 1970s, itis only since about the year 2000 that this has become widely known. This news struck many like a bombshell because, since the inception of the plume model, a whole generation of Earth scientists had grown up essentially assuming themodel to be true and never having been introduced to the notion that it mightnot be.As a result, there has been over the last few years an explosion of interest in challenging the mantle plume hypothesis. In particular the style of undergraduate teaching has changed radically. Some universities now run courses or parts of courses solely dedicated to the mantle plume debate, and undergraduate textbooks that touch upon the subject of hot spots are being revised.Notextbook dedicated to the subject currently exists, however. Researchers, undergraduates and post-graduates rely mostly on the website that I maintain, www.mantleplumes.org. There is thus a clear gap in the textbook literature.The main thrust of the book I propose here is to present and explain non-plume (alternative) models for melting anomalies (hot spots) on Earths surface. The prosewill require some critique of plume models, but this will take a subsidiary role to avoid giving the book a negative tone.
- ISBN: 978-1-4051-6148-0
- Editorial: Wiley-Blackwell
- Encuadernacion: Rústica
- Páginas: 352
- Fecha Publicación: 03/09/2010
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés