Bent Tectonics: How Hawaii Was Bumped Off

More than 80 undersea volcanoes and a multitude of islands are dotted along the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain like pearls on a necklace. A sharp bend in the middle is the only blemish. The long-standing explanation for this distinctive feature was a change in direction of the Pacific oceanic plate in its migration over a stationary hotspot – an apparently unmoving volcano deep within the earth. According to new results, however, the hotspot responsible for the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain was not fixed.

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