The origin of the plume is unknown but it probably comes from the core of the mantle boundary where there is a variation in topography of a few hundred meters and where the convecting liquid core loses heat by conduction. This heat source would be the cause of partial melting and could be the origin of the plume. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Plumes are thought to have a long survival period of tens of millions of years. During their ascent, they are able to cross the endothermic discontinuity of 670 km. Courtillot et al. (2003) suggested the arousal of the plume by three different sources in the mantle. One type originates in the lower mantle due to chemical heterogeneity in the D layer. Another type originates at the base of the transition zones which correspond to super swells. A third type originates in the upper mantle. The Courtillot's model played its role in explaining the various morphologies exhibited by plume-related volcanism. Many predictions, such as the size of the plume head and the nature of the associated uplift, are unambiguous. mantle plume depends critically on the accuracy of its predictions The new plumes consist of a large head followed by a narrower tail; the plume heads should flatten to form a 2,000 to 2,500 km disk. in diameter at the top of their rise; the tail of the plume must have a diameter of 100 to 200 km in the upper mantle The plume must come from a hot boundary layer, probably the core-mantle boundary; heads and tails should produce high-temperature magmas; the plume head excess temperature should be significantly warmer at the center of the head than at the margin. Of these predictions, the most obvious is that the plumes should be warmer than the adjacent mantle. Plume temperature can be obtained from the thickness of oceanic crust produced when spreading centers overlie a plume, using the method of McKenzie & Bickle (1988) to calculate the temperature of the underlying mantle. Normally, the thickness of the ocean curve is 7 ± 1 km. The thickness of the oceanic crust beneath Iceland is 40 km and 25 km below the Walvis Ridge, requiring the mantle temperature beneath these ridges to be 250 °C and 200 °C warmer, respectively, than that of the MORB coat. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. .Get a personalized article now from our expert editors.Get a personalized essay The most accurate prediction of plume theory is that plume heads flatten to form disks 2,000 to 2,500 km in diameter when they reach the upper surface. The size of the flattened plume head can be obtained from the thickness of the oceanic crust. Plumes are thought to be the triggering mechanism for the early stages of continental breakup..