Large igneous provinces and the mantle plume hypothesis

Mantle plumes are columns of hot, solid material that originate deep in the mantle, probably at the core-mantle boundary. Laboratory and numerical models replicating conditions appropriate to the mantle show that mantle plumes have a regular and predictable shape that allows a number of testable predictions to be made. New mantle plumes are predicted to consist of a large head, 1000 km in diameter, followed by a narrower tail. Initial eruption of basalt from a plume head should be preceded by similar to 1000 m of domal uplift. High-temperature magmas are expected to dominate the first eruptive products of a new plume and should be concentrated near the centre of the volcanic province. All of these predictions are confirmed by observations.