Evidence for petit-spot volcanism in the Puerto Rico Trench
Evidence for petit-spot volcanism in the Puerto Rico Trench
Petit-spot volcanism occurs in intraplate settings along the outer rise of subducting plates. Here we present evidence for petit-spot type of volcanism from multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data from the Puerto Rico Trench (PRT). It is the first report of such volcanism in the Atlantic basin. Up to 34 possible petit-spot volcanic cones are mapped in the eastern section of the PRT, with an average diameter of 950 m and a mean height of 92 m. The seamounts are in a region of the PRT that has the longest and highest bending faults, up to 50.6 km long and 1.49 km high. Some of the volcanic cones are associated with fault scarps. The larger bending fault scarps in the region of the volcanic cones suggest the stress state in the eastern PRT is favorable for allowing asthenospheric melt to escape to the surface.
bathymetry, lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, marine geophysics, petit-spot, seafloor volcano
Harmon, Nicholas
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Danforth, William
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Ten Brink, Uri
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Canales, J. Pablo
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Han, Shuoshuo
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Vanacore, Elizabeth
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Granja-Bruña, Jose Luis
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Baldwin, Wayne
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Ackerman, Seth
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Moser, Liam
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Sokolkova, Elisaveta
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28 May 2025
Harmon, Nicholas
10d11a16-b8b0-4132-9354-652e72d8e830
Danforth, William
ebaa320e-65a2-4100-9ce2-c19c173a0ca2
Ten Brink, Uri
146e1614-c280-4f7a-8918-a39caa4553c7
Canales, J. Pablo
89d319c6-4ab3-4b95-ab35-f7c94c786884
Han, Shuoshuo
22923c95-af1c-44b1-918e-e4b6c05a2f11
Vanacore, Elizabeth
5db4d609-9f05-4328-8d4a-9399ece1e8d2
Granja-Bruña, Jose Luis
676ac355-638c-42e4-8ef0-848ea33152d6
Baldwin, Wayne
e8161298-9446-4a7d-9338-c32d89d6d1e1
Ackerman, Seth
d2e9b66e-ae7b-4d35-b537-7fa44646be07
Moser, Liam
0d36883e-e516-467e-bf28-bc116d927e6a
Sokolkova, Elisaveta
46842c04-10fb-4eb1-a26e-c325677b01c3
Harmon, Nicholas, Danforth, William, Ten Brink, Uri, Canales, J. Pablo, Han, Shuoshuo, Vanacore, Elizabeth, Granja-Bruña, Jose Luis, Baldwin, Wayne, Ackerman, Seth, Moser, Liam and Sokolkova, Elisaveta
(2025)
Evidence for petit-spot volcanism in the Puerto Rico Trench.
Geophysical Research Letters, 52 (10), [e2024GL114362].
(doi:10.1029/2024GL114362).
Abstract
Petit-spot volcanism occurs in intraplate settings along the outer rise of subducting plates. Here we present evidence for petit-spot type of volcanism from multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data from the Puerto Rico Trench (PRT). It is the first report of such volcanism in the Atlantic basin. Up to 34 possible petit-spot volcanic cones are mapped in the eastern section of the PRT, with an average diameter of 950 m and a mean height of 92 m. The seamounts are in a region of the PRT that has the longest and highest bending faults, up to 50.6 km long and 1.49 km high. Some of the volcanic cones are associated with fault scarps. The larger bending fault scarps in the region of the volcanic cones suggest the stress state in the eastern PRT is favorable for allowing asthenospheric melt to escape to the surface.
Text
Geophysical Research Letters - 2025 - Harmon - Evidence for Petit‐Spot Volcanism in the Puerto Rico Trench
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Accepted/In Press date: 2 April 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 May 2025
Published date: 28 May 2025
Keywords:
bathymetry, lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, marine geophysics, petit-spot, seafloor volcano
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 503351
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503351
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: 9c3d7ec9-db0e-466e-a73f-c0c689435607
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Date deposited: 29 Jul 2025 16:58
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:01
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Contributors
Author:
William Danforth
Author:
Uri Ten Brink
Author:
J. Pablo Canales
Author:
Shuoshuo Han
Author:
Elizabeth Vanacore
Author:
Jose Luis Granja-Bruña
Author:
Wayne Baldwin
Author:
Seth Ackerman
Author:
Liam Moser
Author:
Elisaveta Sokolkova
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