Magellan Seamounts


The Magellan Seamounts stretch from the Mariana Trench to Ita Mai Tai Guyot. Geological studies have demonstrated unique features with implications on understanding of ocean [island basalt] volcanism. Contracts exist with the International Seabed Authority to exploit the areas potential mineral wealth.

Geography

The Magellan Seamounts extend from to

They include:
  1. Govorov Guyot
  2. *
  3. *121 ± 2.8 to 98.5 ± 1.4 Ma
  4. Ioah Seamount
  5. *
  6. * 87 million years old
  7. Pako Guyot
  8. *
  9. * 92 million years old but volcanics have been now dated in range 112 to 86 Ma and < 20 Ma in smaller volcanoes on the guyot.
  10. Vlinder Guyot
  11. *
  12. * 95 million years old
  13. Ita Mai Tai Guyot
  14. *
  15. * 118 million years old

    Geology

The volcanoes are part of a hotspot chain whose formation ages are in the range 121 to 86 million years ago. However recently sampling has shown secondary volcanic activity at about 20 million years ago. Pako Guyot, which is quite large, is to date the only ocean island basalt seamount where two quite distinct mantle plume components have been discovered in one seamount, being an extreme high μ = 238U/204Pb mantle and enriched mantle 1 component. These are respectively suggestive of associations with the Arago hotspot and/or the Rarotonga hotspot and make a previously suggested association with the Samoa hotspot less likely.
Given their age the guyots have also had sedimentary deposits which have been characterised as reef and planktonic limestones. They are of interest for their mineral potential, for example with cobalt containing ferromanganese nodule deposits.