Contemporaneous intraplate magmatism on conjugate South Atlantic margins: A hotspot conundrum

Recycling deep cratonic lithosphere and generation of intraplate magmatism in the North China Craton

Early Cretaceous alkaline picrites and high-magnesium basalts from the North China craton provide evidence for recycling of continental lithosphere by density foundering. Both the picrites and basalts contain xenocrystic olivines with high Fo92-93 and low CaO (<0.10%), consistent with the lavas’ derivation from, or interaction with Archean mantle lithosphere. Most importantly, both the picritic...

Hafnium isotopic variations in East Atlantic intraplate volcanism

The broad belt of intraplate volcanism in the East Atlantic between 25 and 37 N is proposed to have formed by two adjacent hotspot tracks (the Madeira and Canary tracks) that possess systematically different isotopic signatures reflecting different mantle source compositions. To test this model, Hf isotope ratios from volcanic rocks from all individual islands and all major seamounts are presen...

Seamounts off the West Antarctic margin: A case for non-hotspot driven intraplate volcanism

Mantle thermal structure and active upwelling during continental breakup in the North Atlantic

Seismic reflection and refraction data acquired on four transects spanning the Southeast Greenland rifted margin and Greenland^Iceland Ridge (GIR) provide new constraints on mantle thermal structure and melting processes during continental breakup in the North Atlantic. Maximum igneous crustal thickness varies along the margin from s 30 km in the near-hotspot zone (6 500 km from the hotspot tra...

A biodiversity hotspot losing its top predator: The challenge of jaguar conservation in the Atlantic Forest of South America

The jaguar is the top predator of the Atlantic Forest (AF), which is a highly threatened biodiversity hotspot that occurs in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. By combining data sets from 14 research groups across the region, we determine the population status of the jaguar and propose a spatial prioritization for conservation actions. About 85% of the jaguar's habitat in the AF has been lost and ...