Abstract
The Teahitia-Mehetia hot spot region located in the southeastern extension of the Society Islands chain, near 18° S–148° W consists of several active volcanoes. The distribution of recent volcanic activity correlates with seismic epicenters, and covers an area of more than 1000 km2. Intermittent volcanic activity has given rise to large (>1000 m high) and small (<500 m high) edifices composed of various types of flows. Several recent volcanic events have produced a suite of alkalic rocks ranging from ankaramites, through alkali basalts to trachy-phonolites. The presence of altered MORB-like tholeiites on one small seamount suggests that a different mantle source material was involved in forming some of the crust in this hot spot region.
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Cheminee, J.L., Hekinian, R., Talandier, J. et al. Geology of an active hot spot: Teahitia-Mehetia region in the South Central Pacific. Marine Geophysical Researches 11, 27–50 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00286246
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00286246