“Underwater Data Back Up Theory of Hawaii’s Origin” by Henry Fountain, New York Times

Andrew Robertshaw

It has always been thought that the Hawaiian Islands are volcanoes that have formed as a result of a mantle plume. A mantle plume is an upwelling of hot material from deep within the earth. This idea is just a theory, which is a well tested and almost proven hypothesis. A hypothesis is only a question posed once observations have been made and data has been collected. This relates to our class discussions and assignments dealing with the scientific method.

Cecily J. Wolfe of the University of Hawaii has said that “People have been waiting for the high-resolution seismic imaging”. This means that we want to be 100% sure that our theory on the Hawaiian Island is correct, and this technology could ultimately make this a reality. It has also been said that seismometers would be a vital aspect in proving this theory due to the fact that they can show how the seismic waves from earthquakes travel through the mantle below Hawaii.

My research paper was focused on seismometers and the way work, so this directly relates to the research I did. Some of my research included ocean bottom seismometer technology, which would serve as the main technology in the Hawaiian Islands theory. This was been a problem due to the fact that putting these seismometers on the ocean floor near Hawaii was very difficult and called for advanced technology. This was eventually made possible by a network of seismometers that was put in place due to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Through the new technology of the ocean bottom seismometer system and the seismometers on the island, the data collected definitely supports the theory of a mantle plume under the Hawaiian Islands. This plume is also very deep, maxing out at least 900 miles into the earth’s mantle. By using the data from earthquakes recorded in Hawaii’s area of a 5.5 magnitude or higher, researchers were able to put together 3-D images of the mantle. Those images showed a mantle plume, and how deep it actually was.