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Hawaiian Island Geology

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Presentation on theme: "Hawaiian Island Geology"— Presentation transcript:

1 Hawaiian Island Geology
Other evidence of seafloor spreading is the Hawaiian Hot spot

2 volcanoes in a volcanic island arc system
Over 100 volcanoes in a volcanic island arc system Meiji (3000 m deep) Big Island

3 Hawaiian Islands Niihau Kauai Oahu Molokai Lanai Maui Hawaii

4 Bathymetric Profile of Hawaiian Emperor Chain

5 J. Tuzo Wilson (1963), a Canadian geophysicist ,came up the "hotspot" theory.
volcanoes of the Hawaiian chain should get progressively older and become more eroded the farther they travel beyond the hotspot. Pacific Plate Kauai (oldest) Oahu Maui Hawaii (youngest)

6 Age of Hawaiian Islands

7 Movement of Hawaiian Islands
Moves in a northwesterly direction Much of the Hawaiian island arc is underwater and extends toward Midway

8 WE’VE GOT HOT SPOTS ALL OVER THE PLACE
Other examples of hot spots include: Cape Verde (off the coast of Senegal), Galapagos Islands (off the coast of Equator), Society Islands (French Polynesia), Tristan da Cunha (southern Atlantic), Yellowstone, Ethiopia Plateau, Lord How (near Sydney), Iceland, and many more.

9 Movement away from hotspot
Older islands erode and subside

10 Aging islands and coral:
Drilling and removing core sample C14 dating

11

12

13 Darwin’s Theory of Coral Atoll Formation: Subsidence Theory
Fringing Reef- boarders coastline closely Island subsides Barrier Reef- separated from land by a lagoon Atoll- coral ring with central lagoon lagoon is a shallow area with a sandy floor, patch reefs, and patches of seagrass

14 Fringing Reef- Tahiti

15 Fringing Reef Shoreline Reef Flat Reef Front

16 Barrier Reef Profile

17 Australia- Great Barrier Reef

18                                                              Kaneohe Bay Barrier Reef Patch Reef Fringing Reef

19 Reef Flat of a barrier reef
Lagoon Reef Flat of a Barrier Reef Reef Flat of a barrier reef Coral Island (Cay or Motu) Reef Flat Reef Front Open Ocean

20 Cross Section of an Atoll

21 Belize- Blue Hole Atoll

22 Midway Atoll Kure Atoll (28° 25' N - 178° 20' W) Pearl & Hermes Atoll

23 Inquiry The oldest seamount in the Hawaiian Emperor Chain is _____?
What direction are our islands moving? What seamount will be the newest Hawaiian Island? Key features of a barrier reef are_____? When an atoll subsides it often forms a _____?


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