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Research Article| January 01, 1994 Superplumes or supercontinents? Don L. Anderson Don L. Anderson 1Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Don L. Anderson 1Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1994) 22 (1): 39–42. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0039:SOS>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Don L. Anderson; Superplumes or supercontinents?. Geology 1994;; 22 (1): 39–42. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0039:SOS>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract I attribute the Cretaceous pulse of Pacific oceanic crust formation to a global plate reorganization associated with the breakup of Pangea and rapid growth and reorganization of the Pacific plate. The Cretaceous was characterized by widespread rifting, continental breakup, rapid spreading, and global magmatism. Tomography shows that the upper mantle of the Pacific and Indian oceans is hot. These large low-velocity regions contain most of the world's hotspots and ridges and were the sites of extensive plateau and continental flood-basalt magmatism. The formation and rapid expansion of the Pacific and Indian ocean plates took place in these regions that are hot because they have not been cooled or displaced by cold oceanic lithosphere for more than 200 m.y. Plumes are not required to explain such mantle. The Pacific hemisphere is isolated from the supercontinent hemisphere by a band of cool mantle over which continents collect and into which subduction preferentially occurs. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.