Two views of Hawaiian plume structure

Fundamentally contradictory interpretations of the isotopic compositions of Hawaiian basalts persist, even among authors who agree that the Hawaiian hotspot is caused by a deep‐mantle plume. One view holds that the regional isotopic pattern of the volcanoes reflects large‐scale heterogeneities in the basal thermal boundary layer of the mantle. These are drawn into the rising plume conduit, where they are vertically stretched and ultimately...