Paleomagnetism of Abbott Seamount and implications for the latitudinal drift of the Hawaiian hot spot ( Pacific).

Abstract

The magnetic anomaly of Abbott Seamount, located near the Hawaiian-Emperor bend, has been analyzed for its palaeomagnetic information. Comparison of the Hawaiian-Emperor palaeolatitude data with palaeomagnetic data from central Pacific piston cores and with north Pacific palaeoequator data from DSDP cores indicates that the apparent latitude drift since the Eocene has been largely the result of long-term nondipole components in the geomagnetic field rather than relative motion between the hot spot and the spin axis. Conversely, the variation that occurred prior to the Eocene appears to contain a significant amount of such motion coupled with an indeterminate amount of nondipole effect.-from Author