Research progress of mantle plume

Abstract

Since the mantle plume hypothesis was proposed，it has been controversial in academia，and there is no unified answer to its existence. In this paper，the origin of the mantle plume is elaborated in detail. The views of the doubters and the existing problems of the mantle plume hypothesis are listed，and the evidence of the existence of the mantle plume is summarized. The distribution of continental overflow basalts and oceanic island basalts is studied from the aspects of geochemistry and petrology to understand the morphology of mantle plume on the surface. From the perspective of geotectonics，this paper analyzes how the mantle plume makes the supercontinent merge and split continuously. From the aspect of geophysics，the latest achievements of mantle plume research and the evidence of the existence of mantle plume are described in terms of typical regions such as Hawaiian mantle plume，African super mantle plume and Hainan mantle plume. Finally，the development trend of mantle plumes is discussed.

Keywords

• mantle plume hypothesis
• origin
• problem
• evidence
• plate tectonics