Note: Plates vs. Plumes: A Geological Controversy -- Contents -- Preface -- 1: From plate tectonics to plumes, and back again -- 1.1 Volcanoes, and exceptional volcanoes -- 1.2 Early beginnings: Continental drift and its rejection -- 1.3 Emergence of the Plume hypothesis -- 1.4 Predictions of the Plume hypothesis -- 1.5 Lists of plumes -- 1.6 Testing plume predictions -- 1.7 A quick tour of Hawaii and Iceland -- 1.8 Moving on: Holism and alternatives -- 1.9 The Plate hypothesis -- 1.10 Predictions of the Plate hypothesis -- 1.11 Testing the Plate hypothesis -- 1.12 Revisiting Hawaii and Iceland -- 1.13 Questions and problems -- 1.14 Exercises for the student -- 2: Vertical motions -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Predictions of the Plume hypothesis -- 2.3 Predictions of the Plate hypothesis -- 2.4 Comparison of the predictions of the Plume and Plate hypotheses -- 2.5 Observations -- 2.5.1 Classifying melting anomalies -- 2.5.2 Volcanic chains with initial flood basalts -- 2.5.3 Volcanic chains without initial flood basalts -- 2.5.4 Active flood basalt provinces lacking volcanic chains -- 2.5.5 Extinct flood basalt provinces lacking volcanic chains -- 2.5.6 Vertical motions without flood basalt magmatism -- 2.6 Plume variants -- 2.7 Discussion -- 2.8 Exercises for the student -- 3: Volcanism -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.1.1 Flood basalts and oceanic plateaus -- 3.1.2 Normal or anomalous? -- 3.2 Predictions of the Plume hypothesis -- 3.3 Predictions of the Plate hypothesis -- 3.4 Comparison of the predictions of the Plate and Plume hypotheses -- 3.5 Observations -- 3.5.1 Classifying melting anomalies -- 3.5.2 Large-volume, sustained volcanism -- 3.5.3 Large-volume, brief volcanism -- 3.5.4 Small-volume, sustained volcanism -- 3.5.5 Small-volume, brief volcanism -- 3.6 Plume variants -- 3.7 Discussion -- 3.8 Exercises for the student. , 4: Time progressions and relative fixity of melting anomalies -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Methods -- 4.2.1 Radiometric dating -- 4.2.2 Earth's palaeomagnetic and spin axes -- 4.2.3 True polar wander -- 4.3 Predictions of the Plume hypothesis -- 4.4 Predictions of the Plate hypothesis -- 4.5 Observations -- 4.5.1 Melting anomalies without tracks -- 4.5.2 Short-lived melting anomalies -- 4.5.3 Melting anomalies with long chains that are not time-progressive -- 4.5.4 Melting anomalies with long, time-progressive tracks -- 4.6 Hotspot reference frames -- 4.7 Plume variants -- 4.7.1 "Mantle wind" -- 4.7.2 Other variants -- 4.8 Discussion -- 4.9 Exercises for the student -- 5: Seismology -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.1.2 Seismology is not a thermometer -- 5.2 Seismological techniques -- 5.2.1 Explosion seismology -- 5.2.2 Tomography -- 5.2.3 Teleseismic tomography -- 5.2.4 Whole-mantle tomography -- 5.2.5 Presenting tomography results -- 5.2.6 Receiver functions -- 5.2.7 Shear-wave splitting -- 5.3 Predictions of the Plume hypothesis -- 5.4 Predictions of the Plate hypothesis -- 5.5 Observations -- 5.5.1 Well-studied melting anomalies on extensive land masses -- 5.5.2 Less well-studied melting anomalies in remote regions -- 5.5.3 Structure beneath extinct melting anomalies, and elsewhere -- 5.6 Global observations -- 5.6.1 Whole-mantle tomography -- 5.6.2 Global variations in the transition zone -- 5.6.3 The core-mantle boundary -- 5.7 Plume variants -- 5.8 Discussion -- 5.9 Exercises for the student -- 6: Temperature and heat -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.1.1 Surface heat loss -- 6.1.2 Subsurface temperature profiles -- 6.1.3 Where is the melt? -- 6.1.4 Temperature and heat -- 6.2 Methods -- 6.2.1 Seismology -- 6.2.2 Petrological and geochemical methods -- 6.2.3 Ocean floor bathymetry -- 6.2.4 Heat flow -- 6.2.5 Heat loss from intrusions and eruptives. , 6.3 Predictions of the Plume hypothesis -- 6.4 Predictions of the Plate hypothesis -- 6.5 Observations -- 6.5.1 Mid-ocean ridges -- 6.5.2 The North Atlantic Igneous Province -- 6.5.3 Hawaii -- 6.5.4 Oceanic plateaus -- 6.5.5 Swells -- 6.6 Variants of the Plume hypothesis -- 6.7 Discussion -- 6.8 Exercises for the student -- 7: Petrology and geochemistry -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Some basics -- 7.2.1 Tholeiite and alkali basalts -- 7.2.2 Mantle composition and heterogeneity -- 7.2.3 From melt to source rocks -- 7.2.4 Trace elements and rare-earth elements -- 7.2.5 Radiogenic isotope ratios -- 7.2.6 The mantle zoo -- 7.2.7 MORB, OIB, tholeiites and alkali basalt -- 7.3 Predictions of the Plume hypothesis -- 7.4 Predictions of the Plate hypothesis -- 7.5 Proposed deep-mantle- and core-mantle-boundary tracers -- 7.5.1 Helium (He) isotope ratios -- 7.5.2 Neon (Ne) isotope ratios -- 7.5.3 The Rhenium-Osmium (Re-Os), Platinum-Osmium (Pt-Os) and Hafnium-Tungsten (Hf-W) isotope systems -- 7.6 A few highlights from melting anomalies -- 7.6.1 Iceland and Greenland -- 7.6.2 The Emperor and Hawaiian chains -- 7.6.3 Flood basalts -- 7.6.4 Back-arc regions -- 7.7 Plume variants -- 7.8 Discussion -- 7.9 Exercises for the student -- 8: Synthesis -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.1.1 In the beginning -- 8.1.2 The rise and fall of plumes -- 8.1.3 The ins and outs: Volume -- 8.1.4 The when and where -- 8.1.5 Redium and blueium -- 8.1.6 Are "hot spots" hot? -- 8.1.7 Chemical messengers -- 8.2 Mantle convection -- 8.3 An unfalsifiable hypothesis -- 8.3.1 Building on sand -- 8.4 Diversity: as moking gun -- 8.5 The need for joined-up science -- 8.6 The future -- 8.7 Exercises for the student -- References -- Index -- Colour plate section.