| Depth | 420 metres (1,380 ft) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 25°11′S 129°23′W |
Bounty Seamount is a seamount in the Pacific Ocean, which reaches a depth of 420 metres (1,380 ft)[1] or 450 metres (1,480 ft). It is about 3,950 metres (12,960 ft) high.[2]
Geology and geomorphology
The seamount is part of a group of seamounts about 100 kilometres (62 mi) away from Pitcairn Island, which includes several small seamounts and the large Adams Seamount.[3] These seamounts were discovered in 1989.[1]
Bounty has a conical shape, with three summit cones and several rift zones. Pillow lavas and hyaloclastite cover its slopes,[4] and parasitic vents can be observed as well.[5] The volcano has a volume of about 310 cubic kilometres (74 cu mi) and has a width of 19 kilometres (12 mi) at its foot.[6] Bounty has erupted rocks with compositions of alkali basalt, trachyandesite and trachyte.[7]
Eruption history
Bounty Seamount was formed in several stages,[1] and it could have developed over a time of 58,000 years.[5] Alkali basalts from Bounty have been dated by potassium-argon dating to be 344,000 ± 32,000 years before present.[8] Nevertheless, traces of recent volcanic activity and of hydrothermal venting have been found.[1]
This hydrothermal venting manifests itself by the release of low-temperature fluids and the formation of iron-rich crusts.[1] Temperatures of vented fluids amount to 14–19 °C (57–66 °F).[9]
References
- ^ Scholten et al. 2004, p. 376.
- ^ Binard, Hékinian & Stoffers 1992, p. 253.
- ^ Guillou, Garcia & Turpin 1997, p. 241.
- ^ Binard, Hékinian & Stoffers 1992, p. 259.
- ^ Hekinian et al. 2003, p. 229.
- ^ Hekinian et al. 2003, p. 228.
- ^ Binard, Hékinian & Stoffers 1992, p. 257.
- ^ Guillou, Garcia & Turpin 1997, p. 243.
- ^ Scholten et al. 2004, p. 388.
Sources
- Binard, Nicolas; Hékinian, Roger; Stoffers, Peter (June 1992). "Morphostructural study and type of volcanism of submarine volcanoes over the Pitcairn hot spot in the South Pacific". Tectonophysics. 206 (3–4): 245–264. Bibcode:1992Tectp.206..245B. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(92)90379-K. ISSN 0040-1951
- Guillou, Hervé; Garcia, Michael O.; Turpin, Laurent (September 1997). "Unspiked K-Ar dating of young volcanic rocks from Loihi and Pitcairn hot spot seamounts". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 78 (3–4): 239–249. Bibcode:1997JVGR...78..239G. doi:10.1016/S0377-0273(97)00012-7. ISSN 0377-0273
- Hekinian, R; Cheminée, J.L; Dubois, J; Stoffers, P; Scott, S; Guivel, C; Garbe-Schönberg, D; Devey, C; Bourdon, B; Lackschewitz, K; McMurtry, G; Le Drezen, E (March 2003). "The Pitcairn hotspot in the South Pacific: distribution and composition of submarine volcanic sequences". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 121 (3–4): 219–245. Bibcode:2003JVGR..121..219H. doi:10.1016/S0377-0273(02)00427-4. ISSN 0377-0273
- Scholten, J. C.; Scott, S. D.; Garbe-Schönberg, D.; Fietzke, J.; Blanz, T.; Kennedy, C. B. (2004). "Hydrothermal Iron and Manganese Crusts from the Pitcairn Hotspot Region". Oceanic Hotspots. pp. 375–405. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-18782-7_13. ISBN 978-3-642-62290-8.