Tectonics

Core–mantle boundary

Mantle (geology)

Plate tectonics

Lithosphere

Plume

Hotspot (geology)

Subduction

Earth science

Seismology

Geology

Mantle wedge

Paleontology

Thermodynamics

Physics

Geography

Transition zone

Mantle convection

Geophysics

Meteorology

Magmatism

Mantle plume

Nature Geoscience

The Yellowstone hotspot, located in North America, is an intraplate source of magmatism the cause of which is hotly debated. Some argue that a deep mantle plume sourced at the base of the mantle supplies the heat beneath Yellowstone, whereas others claim shallower subduction or lithospheric-related processes can explain the anomalous magmatism. Here we present a shear wave tomography model for the deep mantle beneath the western United States that was made using the travel times of core waves recorded by the dense USArray seismic network. The model reveals a single narrow, cylindrically shaped slow anomaly, approximately 350 km in diameter that we interpret as a whole-mantle plume. The anomaly is tilted to the northeast and extends from the core–mantle boundary to the surficial position of the Yellowstone hotspot. The structure gradually decreases in strength from the deepest mantle towards the surface and if it is purely a thermal anomaly this implies an initial excess temperature of 650 to 850 °C. Our results strongly support a deep origin for the Yellowstone hotspot, and also provide evidence for the existence of thin thermal mantle plumes that are currently beyond the resolution of global tomography models. The Yellowstone hotspot could be fed by a thin, thermal mantle plume that extends from the core–mantle boundary to the surface position of the hotspot, according to analyses of seismic data.

Lower-mantle plume beneath the Yellowstone hotspot revealed by core waves