Seamounts in the Pacific linked to the margins of Earth’s deepest mantle structures

Seamounts in the Pacific linked to the margins of Earth’s deepest mantle structures | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Seamounts in the Pacific linked to the margins of Earth’s deepest mantle structures Clinton Conrad, Mathew Domeier This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6237397/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract While seafloor spreading and subduction can explain much of Earth’s volcanism, magmatism oc-curring within plate interiors requires a deeper mantle explanation. Indeed, several types of in-traplate volcanism, such as active hotspots, large igneous provinces, and kimberlites, have been tectonically-reconstructed to the margins of two continent-sized structures (termed the large low shear velocity provinces, LLSVPs) in the deepest mantle beneath Africa and the Pacific. Here we show that thousands of seamounts, small seafloor volcanoes with unknown age, are also linked to the LLSVPs. Using a new seamount catalog, we show that seamounts are more voluminous on seafloor that has passed above the margins of the LLSVPs. This volcanic enhancement is domi-nated by the Pacific basin, where LLSVP-associated seamount volumes are amplified by a factor of two even if seamounts associated with known hotspot tracks are excluded. The stronger associ-ation of seamounts with the Pacific LLSVP may be due to hemispheric differences in mantle tem-perature, transition zone hydration, and/or mantle flow vigor between the Pacific and African sides of the planet. This discovery provides support for the hypothesis that multiple forms of intraplate volcanism, now including seamounts located outside of known plume tracks, are associated with heat rising from the LLSVP margins. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geodynamics Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Tectonics Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Volcanology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files seamountsllsvps.v6.supp.pdf Supplementary Material Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6237397","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":444528709,"identity":"7ab5fd28-cc3d-4e6b-aaae-466cc12bc5a6","order_by":0,"name":"Clinton Conrad","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHCD5ANgio0ELWkJJGvJMSBOHX8D7wGGHxV38vnbcz6/+FDBkNjH3sD24AMeLRIH+BIYe848s5xx5u02IMGQ2MZzgN1wBh4tBgw8BsyMbYcNGG7kbjPmbQNqkUhgk+YhRov8jZxnxn9J0mJwI4f5MSMxWiQO8yUc7Dlz2MDwzDMzoKckjNt4DrZJ4vMLf3vvwQc/Kg4byB1PfvzhR4WN7Pz25mMS+EKMgZmH4QCUySYBtBVIMzbg0wAECGcz4zV7FIyCUTAKRi4AAOcgR8JJYxakAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4314-2351","institution":"University of Oslo","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Clinton","middleName":"","lastName":"Conrad","suffix":""},{"id":444528710,"identity":"69fed875-5245-40a5-bfaa-552fd8a90959","order_by":1,"name":"Mathew Domeier","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Oslo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mathew","middleName":"","lastName":"Domeier","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-16 12:00:12","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6237397/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6237397/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":81016413,"identity":"f544b386-01d6-453b-83bc-7db662dc710f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-21 08:58:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3995810,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"seamountsllsvps.v6.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6237397/v1_covered_47bae463-8e57-406a-8e46-9e8fc8a91c60.pdf"},{"id":81014599,"identity":"49ed8fa5-20ce-4b74-b888-95c0924a32fe","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-21 08:42:29","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":722386,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Material","description":"","filename":"seamountsllsvps.v6.supp.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6237397/v1/c3e92a84590ba1da4ef80648.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Seamounts in the Pacific linked to the margins of Earth’s deepest mantle structures","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6237397/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6237397/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"While seafloor spreading and subduction can explain much of Earth’s volcanism, magmatism oc-curring within plate interiors requires a deeper mantle explanation. 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