Figure 4. Motion of the Hawaiian hotspot inferred from absolute kinematic models.

The multi-coloured swaths represent inferred paths of hotspot drift, which, when combined with the Pacific absolute plate motion (APM), produce model hotspot tracks (yellow lines) that accurately track the geometry of and the age progression along the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain (see Methods for details). The red lines track the Pacific APM over an assumed fixed hotspot. Three APM models that do not feature a prominent change in the Pacific plate motion at the time of the HEB formation were considered. (a) Pacific APM model of Chandler et al.²⁷ (WK08-D). (b) The geodynamic APM model of Butterworth et al.²⁴ (42–72 Myr ago), augmented by the rotations from Wessel and Kroenke⁵² (WK08-A) for the younger ages, and extrapolated to 83 Ma as in Wessel & Müller⁵³. (c) APM model based on the Indo-Atlantic moving hotspot reference frame of O'Neill et al.³⁹ and using the relative plate motions of Seton et al.²⁶ updated by Shephard et al.⁵⁴