Geology of Macdonald Seamount region, Austral Islands: Recent hotspot volcanism in the south Pacific

The southeastern extension of the Austral Islands volcanic chain terminates near 29°S, 140°W at the active Macdonald Seamount. The ‘hotspot’ region near Macdonald consists of at least five other volcanic edifices each more than 500 m high, included in an area about 50–100 km in diameter. On the basis of the sea-floor topography, the southeastern limit of the hotspot area is located about 20 km east of the base of Macdonald, where it is defined by the 3950 m isobath. At the edge of the hotspot area, there is a marked deepening of the seafloor from c.3900 m down to 4000–4300 m. The deeper sea-floor is faulted and heavily sedimented. The Macdonald volcano itself stands 3760 m above the surrounding seafloor, and has a basal diameter of 45 km. Its summit in January 1987 was 39 m below sea level, and it seems likely that Macdonald will emerge at the surface in the near future.