Map showing the location of oceanic plateaus (in green) in the Australia-New Zealand region of the South Pacific
An oceanic or submarine plateau is a large, relatively flat elevation that is higher than the surrounding relief with one or more relatively steep sides.[1]
There are 184 oceanic plateaus in the world, covering an area of 18,486,600 km2 (7,137,700 sq mi) or about 5.11% of the oceans.[2] The South Pacific region around Australia and New Zealand contains the greatest number of oceanic plateaus (see map).
Oceanic plateaus produced by large igneous provinces are often associated with hotspots, mantle plumes, and volcanic islands — such as Iceland, Hawaii, Cape Verde, and Kerguelen. The three largest plateaus, the Caribbean, Ontong Java, and Mid-Pacific Mountains, are located on thermal swells. Other oceanic plateaus, however, are made of rifted continental crust, for example the Falkland Plateau, Lord Howe Rise, and parts of Kerguelen, Seychelles, and Arctic ridges.[3]
Plateaus formed by large igneous provinces were formed by the equivalent of continental flood basalts such as the Deccan Traps in India and the Snake River Plain in the United States.
In contrast to continental flood basalts, most igneous oceanic plateaus erupt through young and thin (6–7 km (3.7–4.3 mi)) mafic or ultra-mafic crust and are therefore uncontaminated by felsic crust and representative for their mantle sources.
These plateaus often rise 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) above the surrounding ocean floor and are more buoyant than oceanic crust. They therefore tend to withstand subduction, more-so when thick and when reaching subduction zones shortly after their formations. As a consequence, they tend to "dock" to continental margins and be preserved as accreted terranes. Such terranes are often better preserved than the exposed parts of continental flood basalts and are therefore a better record of large-scale volcanic eruptions throughout Earth's history. This "docking" also means that oceanic plateaus are important contributors to the growth of continental crust. Their formations often had a dramatic impact on global climate, such as the most recent plateaus formed, the three, large, Cretaceous oceanic plateaus in the Pacific and Indian Ocean: Ontong Java, Kerguelen, and Caribbean.[4]
^IHO 2013, pp. 2–12
^Harris et al. 2014, Plateaus (Supplementary Table 20), p. 16
^Mooney, Laske & Masters 1998, Anomalous Crust: Oceanic Plateaus, Hotspots, and Rifts, pp. 754–755
sides. There are 184 oceanicplateaus in the world, covering an area of 18,486,600 km2 (7,137,700 sq mi) or about 5.11% of the oceans. The South Pacific...
The Kerguelen Plateau ( /ˈkɜːrɡələn/, /kərˈɡeɪlən/), also known as the Kerguelen–Heard Plateau, is an oceanicplateau and large igneous province (LIP)...
The Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) is a massive oceanicplateau located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, north of the Solomon Islands. The OJP was formed...
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (/pləˈtoʊ, plæˈtoʊ, ˈplætoʊ/; French: [plato]; pl.: plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland...
Azores Plateau or Azores Platform is an oceanicplateau encompassing the Azores archipelago and the Azores Triple Junction in the North Atlantic Ocean. It...
deepest parts of their respective water bodies, but are not oceanic trenches. An oceanicplateau is a large, relatively flat submarine region that rises well...
is the second-largest oceanicplateau in the Indian Ocean after the Kerguelen Plateau. The northern part of the Mascarene Plateau includes the Agaléga...
Plateau[citation needed] Bollons Seamount – Continental fragment seamount southeast of New Zealand Broken Ridge – Oceanicplateau in the Indian Ocean...
-31; 95 Broken Ridge (Indian Ocean) The Broken Ridge or Broken Plateau is an oceanicplateau in the south-eastern Indian Ocean. The Broken Ridge once formed...
The Iceland Plateau or Icelandic Plateau is an oceanicplateau in the North Atlantic Ocean consisting of Iceland and its contiguous shelf and marginal...
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spreading." That original definition included continental flood basalts, oceanicplateaus, large dike swarms (the eroded roots of a volcanic province), and volcanic...
eastern Pacific oceanicplateau, of which the Caribbean-Colombian oceanicplateau is the tectonized remnant. The deeper levels of the plateau have been exposed...
The Agulhas Plateau is an oceanicplateau located in the south-western Indian Ocean about 500 km (310 mi) south of South Africa. It is a remainder of...
The Hikurangi Plateau is an oceanicplateau in the South Pacific Ocean east of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of a large igneous province...
volcanism in what are called large igneous provinces have produced huge oceanicplateaus and flood basalts in the past. These can comprise hundreds of large...
Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading Oceanic basin – Geologic basin under the sea Oceanicplateau –...
Margin". NOAA Ocean Explorer. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Retrieved 7 February 2012. "George S. Blake". National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
basalts (also known as traps) and oceanicplateaus, together forming a listing of large igneous provinces: List of Oceanic Landforms World's largest eruptions...
Rise is Earth's third largest oceanicplateau, (after Ontong Java and Kerguelen) located in the north-west Pacific Ocean 1,500 km (930 mi) east of Japan...
Genesis of Primitive Tonalites Associated With An Accreting Cretaceous OceanicPlateau: The Aruba Batholith and the Aruba Lava Formation" (PDF). 3rd International...
Principal LIPs in the ocean basins include Oceanic Volcanic Plateaus (OPs) and Volcanic Passive Continental Margins. Oceanic flood basalts are LIPs distinguished...
The Tibetan Plateau, also known as Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and Qing–Zang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South...
The Campbell Plateau is a large oceanicplateau south of New Zealand and the Chatham Rise. It originated in the Gondwanan breakup and is part of Zealandia...
M.; Saleeby, J.; Müller, R.D.; Jackson, J.M. (2010). "The role of oceanicplateau subduction in the Laramide orogeny" (PDF). Nature Geoscience. 3 (5):...
coordinates) There are nine named plateaus in Yellowstone National Park. These plateaus are part of the much larger Yellowstone Plateau and dominate areas in the...
summit. The Shatsky Rise oceanicplateau is comparable in size to California or Japan, but Tamu Massif, which is the plateau's oldest and largest edifice...
175400°W / 44.042850; -110.175400, North Two Ocean Creek flows down from its drainage on the side of Two OceanPlateau, and divides its waters roughly equally...
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