Abstract:
The origination of large plateau basalt provinces in the Earth’s geological history has traditionally been referred to the deep thermal convection caused by plume geodynamics. The emplacement of a large plume into the lithosphere of central Gondwana in the Early–Middle Jurassic (180–173 Ma ago) resulted in the formation of a vast igneous province 2000 km across [2, 3] and probably predetermined the subsequent breakup of the supercontinent and opening of the Southern Ocean.
