Kerguelen Plateau

The Kerguelen Plateau is a vast submarine volcanic plateau in the southern Indian Ocean. Its thick crust formed mainly through magmatism associated with the Kerguelen hotspot.

Kerguelen hotspot: A long-lived mantle source beneath the southern Indian Ocean that produced extensive volcanic rocks. Its magmatism built much of the plateau as the Indian Ocean opened.
Oceanic plateau: A broad, elevated region of unusually thick oceanic crust, commonly produced by extensive volcanism. The Kerguelen Plateau is a major example of this submarine landform.
Kerguelen Islands: A remote French archipelago rising above the southern Indian Ocean on the Kerguelen Plateau. They are the plateau's largest exposed land area and preserve its volcanic rocks.
Ocean drilling: The recovery of rock and sediment cores from beneath the seafloor using drilling vessels. Drilled cores help test the age and composition of plateau rocks directly.
Kerguelen large igneous province: A vast region of volcanic rocks formed by unusually extensive magmatism in the southern Indian Ocean. The plateau is the largest and central expression of this volcanic province.
Mantle plume: A rising column of anomalously hot mantle that can generate extensive melting beneath Earth's lithosphere. A plume is a leading explanation for the hotspot magmatism beneath the plateau.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands: An Australian territory of volcanic islands on the southern Kerguelen Plateau. Their active volcanism shows that magmatic processes persist in the region.
Continental fragment: A remnant of continental crust embedded in or surrounded by oceanic crust. Possible fragments raise questions about how much of the plateau is inherited continent.
Gondwana: An ancient supercontinent that comprised much of Earth's southern landmasses before breaking apart. The plateau formed during the breakup of this supercontinent.
Continental crust: The silica-rich, relatively buoyant crust that underlies Earth's continents. Some plateau sectors contain continental fragments unlike ordinary oceanic crust.

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