"Newly discovered Greenland plume drives thermal activities in the Arctic
The results of their two-part study were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
"Knowledge about the Greenland plume will bolster our understanding of volcanic activities in these regions and the problematic issue of global sea-level rising caused by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet," said Dr. Genti Toyokuni, co-author of the studies.
... the origin of these activities and their inter-connectedness has largely been unexplored.
The research team discovered that the Greenland plume rose from the core -mantle boundary to the mantle transition zone beneath Greenland. The plume also has two branches in the lower mantle that feed into other plumes in the region, supplying heat to active regions in Iceland and Jan Mayen and the geothermal area in Svalbard
Their findings were based on measurements of the 3-D seismic velocity structure of the crust and whole mantle beneath these regions. To obtain the measurements, they used seismic topography. Numerous seismic wave arrival times were inverted to obtain 3-D images of the underground structure. The method works similarly to a CT scan of the human body.
... The US-Japan joint team is primarily responsible for the construction and maintenance of the three seismic stations on the ice sheet.
... "This study revealed the larger picture, so examining the plumes at a more localized level will reveal more information."