Deep mantle plumes: fact or fiction?

Bouyant plumes that rise through the asthenospheric mantle to impact moving lithospheric plates provide a simple and elegant explanation of the linear age progression of volcanic chains and their associated mid-plate topographic swells. There is much current debate, however, concerning the existence of mantle plumes, with some authors preferring models that involve plate boundary induced extensional stresses and enhanced fertility in the sub-crustal mantle. This essay will review the critical geological, geophysical, and geochemical observations and examine their implications for determining the relative role of deep mantle plumes and plate tectonic processes in contributing to large igneous provinces.

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