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Earth science

Plume hypothesis challenged

Nature volume 505, page 618 (2014)Cite this article

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The hundreds of Earth scientists who challenge the existence of plumes of hot rock rising from Earth's core–mantle boundary are not “a small but vocal subset” (Nature 504, 206–207; 2013). Rather than simply promoting the conventional wisdom, you should be encouraging the development of multiple working hypotheses.

Many scientists have valid concerns that the originally postulated behavioural, geometric, chemical and thermal characteristics of mantle plumes have been widely discredited (W. J. Morgan and J. P. Morgan in Plates, Plumes, and Planetary Processes 65–78; Geological Society of America, 2007). The plume model has survived only by diversifying its supposed characteristics, which include a variety of compositions and feats such as tunnelling thousands of kilometres horizontally to emerge anywhere at any time, splitting, merging and pulsing (E. R. Lundin in 52 Things You Should Know About Geology 66–67; Agile Libre, 2013).

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  1. Durham University, UK

    Gillian R. Foulger

  2. Colorado School of Mines, USA

    Warren B. Hamilton

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  1. Gillian R. Foulger
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  2. Warren B. Hamilton
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Correspondence to Gillian R. Foulger.

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Foulger, G., Hamilton, W. Plume hypothesis challenged. Nature 505, 618 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/505618c

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