Description: Highlights • Hotspot tracks occur above fast flow anomalies in the asthenosphere. • Flow channels driven by broad plumes from the African LLSVP. • Zoned intraplate sub-tracks sample shallow convection from the top of LLSVP plumes. • Multiple pulsating African LLSVP plumes drive regional plate tectonics. Abstract The location and crustal structure of hotspot tracks in the South Atlantic reflect where melts related to sluggishly flowing plume material can reach the plate surface. This raises the paradox of how long-lived, age progressive hotspot tracks can arise in the absence of closely spaced, narrow mantle plumes. Here we show that young hotspot trails in the southern South Atlantic are located above bands of seismically slow material in the asthenosphere, which we interpret as channels of fast-flowing asthenosphere fed by a large scale plume upwelling from the African LLSVP. A broad region of seismically slow asthenosphere in the vicinity of Paraná continental flood basalts may be indicative of a long-lived, large scale plume under the South American plate. We propose that hotspot tracks developed above fast flow channels in the asthenosphere that evolved between these large-scale plumes as they migrated apart with the African and South American plates, respectively. A progression from continental flood basalts to broad aseismic ridges (e.g., Walvis Ridge-Rio Grande Rise), to low volume intraplate hotspot tracks (e.g., Tristan-Gough; Discovery; Shona and Bouvet) reflects the interplay between tectonic setting and asthenosphere flow channels driven by waning pulsations from these diverging LLSVP plumes. We link the splitting of the Walvis Ridge into isotopically distinct, age-progressive intraplate sub-tracks about 72 Ma to the first sampling of material rising from the African LLSVP plume, perhaps as weak shallow long-lived plumes. Faster flowing asthenosphere enables melts related to LLSVP plumes to reach the plate surface via spreading and tectonic boundaries, and as low-volume intraplate hotspot (sub)tracks. The concept that asthenosphere flow channels and hotspot tracks evolve together between pulsating deep-seated plumes under Africa and South America suggests that LLSVPs might be a significant force in driving continental rifting and (absolute) plate motion.

Description: The active volcanic island Tristan da Cunha, located at the southwestern and youngest end of the Walvis Ridge - Tristan/Gough hotspot track, is believed to be the surface expression of a huge thermal mantle anomaly. While several criteria for the diagnosis of a classical hotspot track are met, the Tristan region also shows some peculiarities. Consequently it is vigorously debated if the active volcanism in this region is the expression of a deep mantle plume, or if it is caused by shallow plate tectonics and the interaction with the nearby Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Because of a lack of geophysical data in the study area, no model or assumption has been completely confirmed. We present the first amphibian P-wave finite-frequency travel time tomography of the Tristan da Cunha region, based on cross-correlated travel time residuals of teleseismic earthquakes recorded by 24 ocean-bottom seismometers. The data can be used to image a low velocity structure southwest of the island. The feature is cylindrical with a radius of ~ 100 km down to a depth of 250 km. We relate this structure to the origin of Tristan da Cunha and name it the Tristan conduit. Below 250 km the low velocity structure ramifies into narrow veins, each with a radius of ~ 50 km. Furthermore, we imaged a linkage between young seamounts southeast of Tristan da Cunha and the Tristan conduit.

Description: Highlights • Up to 33 km thick dominantly gabbroic crust beneath Walvis Ridge • Massive gabbro addition with subjacent cumulates to the COB south of Walvis Ridge. • Slow upper mantle at ~ 35 km depth beneath Etendeka Plateau • 4–6 km thick oceanic crust in the Angola Basin north of Florianopolis Transform • Velocity models suggest a dominant tectonic control on the location of magmatism. Abstract Voluminous magmatism during the South Atlantic opening has been considered as a classical example for plume related continental breakup. We present a study of the crustal structure around Walvis Ridge, near the intersection with the African margin. Two wide-angle seismic profiles were acquired. One is oriented NNW–SSE, following the continent–ocean transition and crossing Walvis Ridge. A second amphibious profile runs NW–SE from the Angola Basin into continental Namibia. At the continent–ocean boundary (COB) the mafic crust beneath Walvis Ridge is up to 33 km thick, with a pronounced high-velocity lower crustal body. Towards the south there is a smooth transition to 20–25 km thick crust underlying the COB in the Walvis Basin, with a similar velocity structure, indicating a gabbroic lower crust with associated cumulates at the base. The northern boundary of Walvis Ridge towards the Angola Basin shows a sudden change to oceanic crust only 4–6 km thick, coincident with the projection of the Florianopolis Fracture Zone, one of the most prominent tectonic features of the South Atlantic ocean basin. In the amphibious profile the COB is defined by a sharp transition from oceanic to rifted continental crust, with a magmatic overprint landward of the intersection of Walvis Ridge with the Namibian margin. The continental crust beneath the Congo Craton is 40 km thick, shoaling to 35 km further SE. The velocity models show that massive high-velocity gabbroic intrusives are restricted to a narrow zone directly underneath Walvis Ridge and the COB in the south. This distribution of rift-related magmatism is not easily reconciled with models of continental breakup following the establishment of a large, axially symmetric plume in the Earth's mantle. Rift-related lithospheric stretching and associated transform faulting play an overriding role in locating magmatism, dividing the margin in a magma-dominated southern and an essentially amagmatic northern segment.

Description: Highlights • The electrical structure beneath the Tristan da Cunha (TDC) hotspot was investigated. • Plume-like structure was not imaged beneath TDC by 3-D inversion analysis. • The plume may be small and/or weak or take place elsewhere outside of the study area. • Conductivity and bathymetry anomalies show a contrast across the TDC fracture zone. • Mantle temperature and melting process at ridge may cause the conductivity anomaly. Abstract The Tristan da Cunha (TDC) is a volcanic island located above a prominent hotspot in the Atlantic Ocean. Many geological and geochemical evidences support a deep origin of the mantle material feeding the hotspot. However, the existence of a plume has not been confirmed as an anomalous structure in the mantle resolved by geophysical data because of lack of the observations in the area. Marine magnetotelluric and seismological observations were conducted in 2012–2013 to examine the upper mantle structure adjacent to TDC. The electrical conductivity structure of the upper mantle beneath the area was investigated in this study. Three-dimensional inversion analysis depicted a high conductive layer at ~ 120 km depth but no distinct plume-like vertical structure. The conductive layer is mostly flat independently on seafloor age and bulges upward beneath the lithospheric segment where the TDC islands are located compared to younger segment south of the TDC Fracture Zone, while the bathymetry is rather deeper than prediction for the northern segment. The apparent inconsistency between the absence of vertical structure in this study and geochemical evidences on deep origin materials suggests that either the upwelling is too small and/or weak to be resolved by the current data set or that the upwelling takes place elsewhere outside of the study area. Other observations suggest that 1) the conductivity of the upper mantle can be explained by the fact that the mantle above the high conductivity layer is depleted in volatiles as the result of partial melting beneath the spreading ridge, 2) the potential temperature of the segments north of the TDC Fracture Zone is lower than that of the southern segment at least during the past ~ 30 Myr.

Description: Highlights • Receiver functions from ocean-bottom seismometer stations reveal no significant crustal thickening in the surrounding of the Tristan da Cunha hot spot. • The mantle transition zone to the NW of Tristan da Cunha is thickened and cool. • The mantle transition zone is potentially thinned to the south/southwest of Tristan da Cunha. • A thickness of 60 to 75 km beneath Tristan da Cunha argues for a compositional control on the seismological lithosphere in the South Atlantic. Abstract The most prominent hotspot in the South Atlantic is Tristan da Cunha, which is widely considered to be underlain by a mantle plume. But the existence, location and size of this mantle plume have not been established due to the lack of regional geophysical observations. A passive seismic experiment using ocean bottom seismometers aims to investigate the lithosphere and upper mantle structure beneath the hotspot. Using the Ps receiver function method we calculate a thickness of 5 to 8 km for the oceanic crust at 17 ocean-bottom stations deployed around the islands. Within the errors of the method the thickness of the oceanic crust is very close to the global mean. The Tristan hotspot seems to have contributed little additional magmatic material or heat to the melting zone at the mid-oceanic ridge, which could be detected as thickened oceanic crust. Magmatic activity on the archipelago and surrounding seamounts seems to have only effected the crustal thickness locally. Furthermore, we imaged the mantle transition zone discontinuities by analysing receiver functions at the permanent seismological station TRIS and surrounding OBS stations. Our observations provide evidence for a thickened (cold) mantle transition zone west and northwest of the islands, which excludes the presence of a deep-reaching mantle plume. We have some indications of a thinned, hot mantle transition zone south of Tristan da Cunha inferred from sparse and noisy observations, which might indicate the location of a Tristan mantle plume at mid-mantle depths. Sp receiver functions image the base of lithosphere at about 60 to 75 km beneath the islands, which argues for a compositionally controlled seismological lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath the study area.

Description: Highlights • Late stage volcanism covers old oceanic crust north of the Florianopolis Fracture Zone. • No influence of fracture zone on formation of Walvis Ridge at 6° E. • Walvis Ridge at 6° E erupted in deep water environment. Abstract The Walvis Ridge is one of the major hotspot trails in the South Atlantic and a classical example for volcanic island chains. Two models compete about the origin of the ridge: It is either the result of a deep mantle plume or active fracture zones above mantle inhomogeneities. Among other things crustal information is needed to constrain the models. Here, we provide such constraint with a 480 km long P-wave velocity model of the deep crustal structure of the eastern Walvis Ridge at 6° E. According to our data the Walvis Ridge stretches across the Florianopolis Fracture Zone into the Angola Basin. Here, we observe a basement high and thick basaltic layers covering the oceanic crust and the fracture zone. We found two crustal roots along the profile: one is located beneath the ridge crest, the other one beneath the northern basement high in the Angola Basin. The crustal thickness reaches 18 km and 12 km and the lower crustal velocities are 7.2 km/s and 7.4 km/s, respectively. The bathymetric expression of the ridge along the profile is less pronounced than closer to shore, which is mainly attributable to the absence of a thick layer of volcanic debris, rather than to reduced crustal thickness below the basement surface. Therefore, this part of the ridge was never or only briefly subaerially exposed. The crustal structure suggests that the ridge and the fracture zone formed independently of each other. The oceanic crust north of the fracture zone, which is buried underneath the basalt layer, is younger than the reconstructed age of hotspot volcanism of the Walvis Ridge. We interpret these structures north of the fracture zone to be at least partly a product of late stage volcanism.

Description: The timing and geometry of the initial Gondwana break-up between Africa and East Antarctica is still poorly known due to missing information about the continent-ocean boundaries along the rifted margins. In this context, the Beira High off central Mozambique forms a critical geological feature of uncertain crustal fabric. Based on new wide-angle seismic and potential field data across Beira High a P-wave velocity model, supported by amplitude and gravity modelling, provides constraints on the crustal composition of this area. In the Mozambique Basin mainly normal oceanic crust of 5.5–7 km thickness with velocities of 6.5–7.0 km/s in the lower crust is present. A sharp transition towards Beira High marks the continent-ocean boundary. Here the crust thickens to 23 km at maximum. A small velocity-depth gradient and a constant increase in velocity with basal velocities of maximum 7.0 km/s are in good agreement with typical velocities of continental crust and continental fragments. The density model indicates the existence of felsicmaterial in greater depths and supports a fabric of stretched, but highly intruded continental crust below Beira High. A gradual decrease in crustal thickness characterizes the transition towards the Mozambican shelf area. Here, in the Zambezi Delta Depression 12 km of sediments cover the underlying 7 km thick crust. The presence of a high-velocity lower crustal body with velocities of 7.1–7.4 km/s indicates underplated, magmatic material in this part of the profile. However, the velocity structure in the shelf area allows no definite interpretation because of the experimental setup. Thus, the crustal nature below the Zambezi Delta and consequently the landward position of the continentocean boundary remains unknown. The difference in stretching below the margins of Beira High suggests the presence of different thinning directions and a rift jump during the early rifting stage.

Description: The enigmatic 85°E Ridge crosses the Bay of Bengal from north to south. Its strong gravity anomaly low is associated with Cretaceous hotspot volcanism. South of 5°N, the gravity low bends into a SW-NE orientation and continues as far SW as the Afanasy Nikitin Seamounts. This change has been interpreted to represent a bent hotspot track. We report new constraints on the crustal structure and genesis beneath the SW-trending gravity low based on new refraction seismic, reflection seismic, and shipborne gravity data. Our findings show that the crustal structure across the gravity low does not differ significantly from the adjacent, 4.5 to 7 km thick oceanic crust. No basement ridge, significant crustal thickening, or magmatic underplating were identified. We found no evidence for a southern prolongation of the 85°E Ridge. Instead, our P-wave velocity and density models reveal the gravity low to express a flexural basin, which is a result of widespread mid-Miocene to recent lithospheric deformation in the Indian Ocean. The ~25 mGal negative gravity anomaly is therefore not related to the passage of the Indian plate over a mantle plume, casting doubt on the possibility that volcanism at the Afanasy Nikitin Seamounts might be related to the same plume as the northern 85°E Ridge. The northern 85°E Ridge may have been generated at the northern prolongation of the 86°E Fracture Zone.

Description: Finding the best fit for East- and West-Gondwana requires a detailed knowledge of the initial Jurassic movements between Africa and Antarctica. This study presents results of systematic and densely spaced aeromagnetic measurements, which have been conducted in 2009/2010 across the Astrid Ridge (Antarctica) and in the western Riiser-Larsen Sea to provide constraints for the early seafloor spreading history between both continents. The data reveal different magnetic signatures of the northern and southern parts of the Astrid Ridge, which are separated by the Astrid Fracture Zone. The southern part is weakly magnetised, corresponding to the low amplitude anomaly field of the southwestern Riiser-Larsen Sea. The northern Astrid Ridge bears strong positive anomalies. Several sets of trends are visible in the data. In the Mozambique Channel, we extended the existing magnetic spreading anomaly identifications close to the Mozambique margin. Based on these and on spreading anomalies in the conjugate Riiser-Larsen Sea, we established a new model of the early relative movements of Africa and Antarctica in Jurassic times, and introduce a detailed model for the emplacement of the Mozambique Ridge. The model postulates a tight fit between Africa and Antarctica and two stages of breakup, the first of which lasting until ~159 Ma (M33n). During this stage, Antarctica rotated anticlockwise with respect to Africa. The Grunehogna Craton cleared the Coastal Plains of Mozambique and occupied a position east of the Mozambique Fracture Zone. The southern Astrid Ridge is interpreted to consist of oceanic crust that was formed prior to the Riiser-Larsen Sea during this first stage. During the second stage, Antarctica moved southward with respect to Africa forming the Mozambique Basin and the conjugate Riiser-Larsen Sea. The Mozambique Ridge and the Northern Natal Valley were formed at different spreading centers being active subsequently.

Description: The ice shield of Antarctica, which measures several kilometers in thickness, presents a challenge when attempting to unravel the subglacial geology. Here, we report about systematic airborne magnetic surveys conducted over the last decade, which investigated a significant part of Dronning Maud Land (DML), imaging for the first time the crustal architecture of the interior of this sector of East Antarctica. High-resolution data reveal parallel, elongated magnetic anomalies in southeastern DML. These NW–SE trending anomalies can be traced farther east into sparser Russian magnetic data sets. Several high amplitude magnetic anomalies with values above 400 nT have been observed in southwesternDML and Coats Land. They differ clearly inwavelength and amplitudes fromthe magnetic pattern found in the east and do not show any evidence of a Pan-African orogenic belt or suture zone connecting the Shackleton Range with easternDML, as hypothesized in several studies. This leads to the assumption of the existence of a hitherto unrecognized large tectonic province in southeastern DML.Whereas an over 100 km long magnetic lineament in the interior of the DronningMaud Landmay reflect a major shear zone akin to the Pan-African age Heimefrontfjella shear zone. Both findings bring new evidences to the still open question about the amalgation of East and West Gondwana. In addition, the magnetic data allow mapping the eastern extent of the presumable cratonic province of Coats Land, a region considered as a key piercing point for reconstructions of Rodinia. Furthermore, the Beattie Magnetic Anomaly in southern Africa is assumed to continue into East Antarctica. Two magnetic highs in western DML are identified as possible eastward continuation of this prominent anomaly.