Intellectual merit: This work seeks to understand the origin of the shallow ocean floor around volcanic ocean islands of proposed hotspot origin. The work is crucial to our understanding of plume geodynamics, how plumes interact with the lithosphere, and the origin of plume volcanism. The Hawaiian swell, the most extensively studied of these regions, is the research target. The work tests two different geophysical lithosphere thinning models using detailed geochemical analyses (Hf-Os-Nd-Sr-Pb isotopes, trace and major element concentrations) of peridotite xenoliths from the island of Kaua`i. Chemical data will be used to identify the signatures of peridotites from the Pacific lithosphere and from the mantle plume. If peridotites with both plume-related and in situ Pacific lithosphere compositions are found at Kaua`i, as they are in O`ahu, this is evidence for large-scale erosion and replacement of the Pacific lithosphere by the plume downstream from its present center under the island of Hawai'i. Rare garnet pyroxenite xenoliths from Ka`ula island, and garnet pyroxenites with "majorite" precursors from Salt Lake Crater, O`ahu, which represent some of the deepest samples from the oceanic mantle will also be analyzed to try and identify different proposed origins of the pyroxenites, and identify them as either recycled oceanic crust or high pressure cumulates. The resulting work will provided a new and unprecedented, 4-dimensional (space and time) view of the lithosphere above a plume. Broader impacts: This research directly complements other ongoing NSF-funded projects, whose objective is to image the root of the Hawaiian swell and determine the origin of the secondary volcanism around the Hawaiian Islands through the study of lavas. Results will be disseminated in the form of publications and presentations at national professional meetings. The research supports an early career scientist in at Florida State University and will involve undergraduate Earth Sciences majors in projects directly related to the main research objectives of this study. This research will also involve and train undergraduate science majors through a NSF-funded REU program at the National High Magnetic Field Lab (NHMFL), and will involve and expose middle school students to research in earth sciences through ongoing outreach programs at the NHMFL. Additional public outreach will occur at the annual NHMFL Open House.
