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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2004; v. 229; p. 21-30;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2004.229.01.03
© 2004 Geological Society of London

Geological Evolution and Palaeomagnetism

Modelled palaeolatitudes for the Louisville hot spot and the Ontong Java Plateau

Maria Antretter1, Peter Riisager2, Stuart Hall3, Xixi Zhao4 & Bernhard Steinberger5

1 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Munich, Theresienstrasse 41, D-80333 München, Germany maria{at}geophysik.uni-muenchen.de
2 Danish Lithosphere Centre, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
3 Department of Geosciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5007, USA
4 Earth Sciences Department, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
5 IFREE, JAMSTEC, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan

Formation of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP), a large igneous province in the western Pacific, has been attributed to a rising plume head in the initial stage of the Louisville hot spot, approximately 120–125 Ma ago. However, the Neal et al. plate reconstruction suggests that the plateau formed approximately 9° north of the current location of this hot spot at 51°S. The magnetization of the plateau’s basement records a palaeolatitude of approximately 25°S which further increases the discrepancy with the plume-head model. Modelling the motion of the Louisville hot spot for the last 120 Ma yields a possible southward motion of up to about 6°. True polar wander (TPW) models also shift the predicted palaeolatitudes of the plateau farther north. Taking into account both hot-spot motion and TPW, formation of the OJP by the Louisville not spot remains a possibility.