Research

Episodic mantle plumes: driving plate tectonics and continental margin evolution?

  • Research Theme
    Oceans & Cryosphere
  • Cross-disciplinary Theme(s)
    Ocean-Earth System
  • Funded By

    Australian Research Council
    From 2014 to 2016

  • Principal Investigator
  • Contributor(s)

  • Project Summary

    Plumes of molten rock rise from deep within the Earth, resulting in massive surface eruptions that can lead to global mass extinction events. Despite their size (100-3000 km width), the role plumes play in driving the movements of the continents is poorly understood. This project combines independent, global, and Australian geological and geophysical data with open software systems to link deep Earth and surface geological processes. This approach will result in a clearer understanding of how the internal workings of our planet drive and interact with surface geological processes, and how these interactions shape the environmentally important, and resources rich, continental margins and ocean basins.

    Interested in this project?

Authorised by the Executive Director, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
1 October, 2019