Late Permian Emeishan Flood Basalts in Southwestern China

Current debates over mantle plumes are centered on three assumptions namely: (1) cylindrical thermally anomalous materials which arise from the core mantle boundary; (2) high temperature of mantle plumes; (3) mantle plumes are stationary. A full test of the validity of these assumptions requires a comprehensive evaluation using techniques including high resolution seismic tomography, petrology and paleomagnetism. It is argued in this paper that...