Another recent new research direction has been investigating the origin of “non plume” intraplate volcanism. These enigmatic volcanoes are not associated with classical hotspots, but show hotspot-like characteristics.
One area of research is the fossil ridge seamounts and ocean islands found offshore Baja California in the Borderlands. Recently, members of my research group did a month of field work on Guadalupe Island, Mexico (June 2024) as part of an NSF-funded project.
Check out the SIO news article here!
I’m also interested in seamounts and other styles of intraplate magmatism formed on old oceanic lithosphere, such as the Western Pacific.