ISSN 0016-8521, Geotectonics, 2009, Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 337–357. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2009.

Original Russian Text © V.I. Kovalenko, V.V. Yarmolyuk, O.A. Bogatikov, 2009, published in Geotektonika, 2009, No. 5, pp. 3–24.

Geodynamic Setting of Recent Volcanism in North Eurasia

V. I. Kovalenko, V. V. Yarmolyuk, and O. A. Bogatikov
Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences,
35 Staromonetnyi per., Moscow, 119017 Russia
e-mail: vik@igem.ru
Received March 17, 2009

Abstract—A GIS layout of the map of recent volcanism in North Eurasia is used to estimate the geodynamic
setting of this volcanism. The fields of recent volcanic activity surround the Russian and Siberian platforms—
the largest ancient tectonic blocks of Eurasia—from the arctic part of North Eurasia to the Russian Northeast
and Far East and then via Central Asia to the Caucasus and West Europe. Asymmetry in the spatial distribution
of recent volcanics of North Eurasia is emphasized by compositional variations and corresponding geodynamic
settings. Recent volcanic rocks in the arctic part of North Eurasia comprise the within-plate alkaline and sub-
alkaline basic rocks on the islands of the Arctic Ocean and tholeiitic basalts of the mid-ocean Gakkel Ridge.
The southern, eastern, and western volcanic fields are characterized by a combination of within-plate alkaline
and subalkaline basic rocks, including carbonatites in Afghanistan, and island-arc or collision basalt–andesite–
rhyolite associations. The spatial distribution of recent volcanism is controlled by the thermal state of the mantle
beneath North Eurasia. The enormous mass of the oceanic lithosphere was subducted during the formation of
the Pangea supercontinent primarily beneath Eurasia (cold superplume) and cooled its mantle, having retained
the North Pangea supercontinent almost unchanged for 200 Ma. Volcanic activity was related to the develop-
ment of various shallow-seated geodynamic settings and deep-seated within-plate processes. Within-plate vol-
canism in eastern and southern North Eurasia is controlled, as a rule, by upper mantle plumes, which appeared
in zones of convergence of lithospheric plates in connection with ascending hot flows compensating submer-
gence of cold lithospheric slabs. After the breakdown of Pangea, which affected the northern hemisphere of the
Earth insignificantly, marine basins with oceanic crust started to form in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic in
response to the subsequent breakdown of the supercontinent in the northern hemisphere. In our opinion, the
young Arctic Ocean that arose before the growth of the Gakkel Ridge and, probably, the oceanic portion of the
Amerasia Basin should be regarded as a typical intracontinental basin within the supercontinent [48]. Most
likely, this basin was formed under the effect of mantle plumes in the course of their propagation (expansion,
after Yu.M. Pushcharovsky) to the north of the Central Atlantic, including an inferred plume of the North Pole
(HALIP).
DOI: 10.1134/S001685210905001X

INTRODUCTION into account the type of volcanism, composition of igne-

The project “Recent Volcanism: Its Evolution and Cat-
astrophic Consequences” is one of the pivotal projects in
the program of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of
Sciences entitled “Changes in the Environment and Cli-
mate: Natural Catastrophes.” The most important objec-
tive of this project is to ascertain the principles of spa-
tiotemporal evolution of recent volcanism in North Eur-
asia. In this paper, we present original data and the results
of integration of extensive available information in form of
the GIS layout of the map of recent volcanism of North
Eurasia (Fig. 1) compiled by V.V. Akinin, O.A. Braitseva,
O.A. Bogatikov, V.M. Gazeev, A.G. Gurbanov,
A.N. Evdokimov, V.I. Kovalenko, E.A. Korago,
E.A. Kudryashova, A.B. Leksin, I.V. Melekestsev,
M.A. Pevzner, V.V. Ponomareva, V.G. Sakhno, F.M. Stu-
pak, E.V. Sharkov, and V.V. Yarmolyuk and edited by
V.I. Kovalenko, V.V. Yarmolyuk, and O.A. Bogatikov. The
map is based on the results of investigations of many geol-
ogists integrated and supplemented by executors of the
program. The demarcation of the mapped territory takes
ous rocks, the staged evolution of volcanic activity, and its
geodynamic setting. The relationships of recent volcanism
not only to geodynamics but also to neotectonics and
mountain building are characterized for particular regions.
It should be noted that this paper is based on new K–Ar
and radiocarbon age determinations published in the col-
lective monograph [14] with the same title as the afore-
mentioned project and as a short summary in [18]. The
great body of new factual data cannot be considered in a
journal article, so that only a brief overview sufficient for
establishing the geodynamic setting of recent volcanism in
North Eurasia is presented in this paper. Readers can get
acquainted with the full available information in [14].
THE MAP OF RECENT VOLCANISM
OF NORTH EURASIA:
DEMARCATION AND GEODYNAMIC SETTING
Contrary to the previous views that only Kamchatka
and the Kuril Islands are hazardous with respect to

337
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40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 80° 70°

Paris
170°
0°
Berlin

Prague 180°
Warsaw

Budapest
10° 170°
Moscow
Sofia

160°

20°
Ankara

150°
Cairo
KOVALENKO et al.

Ulaanbaator
30° Tehran
Ashabad

Tokio
Beijing Seul
Kabul
140°

GEOTECTONICS
Vol. 43
40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 110° 120° 130°

No. 5
Fig. 1. Map of recent volcanism of North Eurasia. Legend is compiled after the Map of Neotectonics the World [12].

2009
 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA 339

Types of structural units at neotectonic stage

Continental
Platform Orogen Riftogen
In ancient In young platforms On Early Cenozoic On Late Cenozoic and
(Prebaikalian) platforms and older fold basement older fold basement
In shields In plates In shields In plates (epiplatform) (epigeosynclinal)
and massifs and massifs
–1000 –6000 –500 –4000 –7000 –7000 –4000
–500 –5000 0 –3000 –6000 –6000 –3000
0 –4000 500 –2000 –5000 –5000 –2000
500 –3000 1000 –1000 –4000 –4000 –1000
1000 –2000 2000 –500 –3000 –3000 0
2000 –1000 3000 0 –2000 –2000 1000
3000 –500 5000 500 –1000 –1000 2000
0 1000 0 0 3000
500 2000 1000 1000 4000
1000 3000 2000 2000
2000 4000 3000 3000
3000 4000 4000
5000
4000 5000
6000
7000
8000
9000

Transitional between continental and oceanic

Rise of subcontinental Subsidence of continental Subsidence of suboceanic crust Megaflexure

crust and island arcs or subcontinental crust

–2000 1000 Deep –500

–1000 0 Trench 0
0 Bathyal Trough 500
1000
Bathyal

Oceanic
Platform Orogen Riftogen
Arched and block Arched and volcanic
Plate Bathyal Bathyal 0
Marginal swell 0 1000
Arched and block relative uplifts 1000 2000
Bathyal
Hemishelf

Volcanic occurrences
Age (Ma)

Holocene (<0.01) Pleistocene–late Pliocene (<3) Pliocene (6–3) Miocene (25–6) Oligocene (>25)

Volcanic edifice
Other symbols
Normal and reverse faults Thrust fault Boundary of lithospheric plate State border

Fig 1. (Contd.)

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

340 KOVALENKO et al.
young volcanic activity, the performed study has shown
that potential volcanic hazard threatens more extensive
territories at the northeastern, arctic, and southern mar-
gins of the Russian Federation. This hazard is related to
those types of volcanic activity which are not character-
istic of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands and develop in
the within-plate and collision geodynamic settings. The
centers of such volcanic activity are situated within
Russia and close to its borders. Therefore, it has
become necessary to depict the occurrences of recent
volcanism over the entire territory of North Eurasia.
The elaboration of this problem in the framework of
the program “Changes in the Environment and Climate:
Natural Catastrophes” resulted in the compilation of a
map of recent volcanism of North Eurasia using GIS
technology (Fig. 1). The main objective of this map is
delineating the regions of volcanic activity that devel-
oped in the Pleistocene and Holocene, i.e., those that are
not older than 1.8 Ma and are related to recent variations
of tectonic and geodynamic regimes. The latter condition
implies that the nature of volcanic activity in specific
neovolcanic provinces has remained unchanged until
now and the settings of recurrent volcanic eruptions
remain the same. Because of this, the map is focused on
the attributes pertaining to the last stages of the evolution
of volcanic regions. These stages differ in age in particu-
lar regions. For example, the present-day structural grain
controlling volcanic activity in Kamchatka started to
evolve about 50 ka ago, and volcanism of precisely this
age is shown in the map (Fig. 1). In contrast, the geody-
namic and tectonic regimes of volcanism in the within-
plate regions of Central Asia did not change during the
entire Late Cenozoic (>25 Ma ago), and the volcanic
attributes of this time interval are reproduced in the map.
The topographic and neotectonic [12] maps, as well
as the maps of active faults [11] and earthquake sources
[28], were used as a structural base of the GIS layout
shown in Fig. 1. The volcanic areas projected on these
maps in the form of separate layers allowed us to con-
sider the links of volcanic activity with many parame-
ters of recent endogenic activity and to provide insights
into the general evolutional trends of recent volcanism
in North Eurasia. The particular volcanic regions differ
in the composition of igneous rocks and geological
conditions of volcanic eruptions. The map demon-
strates localization of active volcanic fields in the sys-
tem of orographic elements of Eurasia and their distinct
relations to young mountains, i.e., zones of neotectonic
activity characterized by numerous microplates smaller
in size in comparison with common lithospheric plates.
These zones differ in geodynamics and occur at the
periphery of the Eurasian lithospheric plate.
The concentrically asymmetric spatial distribution
of recent volcanism is characteristic of North Eurasia.
On examination of the map (Fig. 1), the concentric
arrangement of the volcanic fields is noteworthy. The
regions with recent volcanism make up the belts sur-
rounding the Russian and Siberian platforms as the
largest ancient tectonic blocks. Beginning from the
western Arctic Region and moving eastward, recent
volcanism is traced from Spitsbergen Archipelago,
Franz Josef Land, and Novaya Zemlya to the New Sibe-
rian Islands, Gakkel Ridge, the islands that mark the
De Long Dome, and finally, to the northeastern prov-
ince of within-plate volcanism of the Chukchi Penin-
sula and Alaska. In the east of North Eurasia, recent
volcanism develops as a chain of island arcs, including
the Aleutian, Kamchatka, Kuril, and Japan arcs, and the
adjacent within-plate volcanic province of the eastern
margin of the Far East. The system of recent volcanic
regions that frames the southern part of North Eurasia
is traced westward from the Amur region via the Baikal
region, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and the
Caucasus to the eastern and central Mediterranean and
West Europe. Via the north of West Europe, the western
European segment of the belt of recent volcanism is
connected with the western Arctic segment.
The asymmetry in the spatial distribution of recent
volcanism in North Eurasia is expressed in the composi-
tional zoning of igneous rocks and variation in their geo-
dynamic setting. The arctic segment of the recent volca-
nic belt in North Eurasia is distinguished by alkaline and
subalkaline basic rocks on the islands of the Arctic
Ocean and tholeiitic basalts of the Gakkel Ridge. Such
rock associations are referred to within-plate provinces
and mid-ocean ridges, respectively. The volcanic regions
in the eastern segment of the belt related to island arcs are
characterized by a predominance of basaltic andesite and
andesite in the complete range of basalt to rhyolite. The
southern and the western segments of the volcanic belt
are distinguished by a combination of alkaline and sub-
alkaline basic rocks, including carbonatites in Afghani-
stan and basalt–andesite–rhyolite associations of colli-
sion-related volcanic rocks.
The spatial distribution of recent volcanism in North
Eurasia is nonuniform: igneous rocks concentrate in
some regions and are sporadic in others. The volcanic
regions are not only spatially separated but differ from
one another in tectonic control of volcanic activity, its
age, and evolutional trend. Volcanic regions of the mid-
ocean ridges, island arcs, zones of continental collision,
within-plate regions related to mantle hot spots, conti-
nental rifts, and transcontinental belts are distinguished
in North Eurasia (Fig. 2).
Volcanic regions of mid-ocean ridges are illus-
trated by the Gakkel Ridge, about 1800 km in extent
(Fig. 2, region I). This ridge is an arctic continuation of
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the global system of Mid-
Atlantic ridges. The spreading rate in the Gakkel Ridge
is not high (1.0–1.3 cm/yr); however, its structure is
typical of MORs. Linear volcanic edifices extend along
the axial rift valley. At the continental framework of the
newly formed oceanic lithosphere, Late Cenozoic
alkali basalts erupted on the New Siberian, Novaya
Zemlya, and Spitzbergen islands (Fig. 2, region VI),
which, probably, mark the region of rifting in the Arctic
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA 341

VI VI
II
IV
VII

II
Vb
Va

III
VIII

‡
1 b 2 3 4

Fig. 2. Geodynamic demarcation of recent volcanic regions in North Eurasia. (1) Lava fields, (2) convergent boundary of lithos-
pheric plates: (a) related to subduction zones of island arcs and (b) related to zones of continental collision; (3) other boundaries of
plates and microplates; (4) boundary of volcanic region. Volcanic regions (numerals in figure): I, Gakkel Mid-Ocean Ridge;
II, Kamchatka, Kuril, Aleutian, and other island arcs; (III, IV)Tethyan Collision Belt: III, Asian Branch; IV, Anatolian–Balkan
Branch; (V, VI) within-plate provinces: V, East and Central Asia (subprovinces: Va, Maritime, Vb, Central Asian); VI, Northeastern
Russia; (VII, VIII) transcontinental rift belts: VII, Central African–Central European, VIII, East African–Transcaucasus.

Eurasia Basin. Recent volcanism is suggested in the
Makarov Basin [2] and even at the North Pole, though
other authors are in doubt about this inference [4].
Volcanic regions of suprasubduction island arcs
are exemplified in the Kuril, Kamchatka, and other vol-
canic arcs of East Asia (Fig. 2, region II). The recent
stage of their evolution is characterized by volcanoes
that appeared during the last 40–50 Ma. Almost all
morphological types of volcanoes are known: lava pla-
teau and plains, shield volcanoes and statavolcanoes,
and calderas. Andesites are the most abundant, how-
ever, the composition of rocks ranges from basalt to
rhyolite, including lavas, tuffs, and ingnimbrites. Vol-
canic rocks of the calc-alkaline series are the most fre-
quent; the tholeiitic and subalkaline series are less
abundant.
Volcanic regions of continental collision zones are
related to the Alpine–Himalayan Orogenic Belt that
was formed in the zone of collision between the Ara-
bian–African and Indian plates. Recent volcanic activ-
ity proceeded with variable intensity along its entire
extent from Central Tibet in the east to the Pyrenean
Peninsula in the west. The Asian and European
branches of the Alpine–Himalayan volcanic belt, also
called Tethyan, are distinguished.
The Asian branch (Fig. 2, region III) combines the
volcanic regions that are related to the part of the colli-
sion belt located in the Asian continent and; it formed
above the zone of collision and subduction of the Ara-
bian and Indian plates under the Eurasian Plate. Recent
volcanism is related to the late orogenic stage and
started mainly in the Pliocene [19, 53, 54]. The large
lava plateaus, shield volcanoes, and stratovolcanoes
formed at that time are grouped into volcanic chains
extending along the mountain ranges. The igneous
rocks vary in composition from alkaline to calc-alka-
line basalts via andesites to rhyolites, and even carbon-
atite volcanic edifices in Afghanistan.
The European branch (Fig. 2, region IV) of the col-
lision volcanic belt is traced along the northern conti-

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

342 KOVALENKO et al.
nental framework of the Mediterranean Sea and charac-
terized by relations to subduction zones. The volcanic
activity developed during the whole Cenozoic. The
Pliocene–Pleistocene volcanism is related to recent
mountain building. Andesites, dacites, and rhyolites
compose stratovolcanoes and pyroclastic fields. The
present-day island-arc volcanism is related to the
Aegean and Eolian arcs with a number of central volca-
noes consisting of andesites, dacites, and rhyolites
(lavas and pyroclastic rocks). The volcanoes of the
Vesuvius group stand out by high-K alkaline igneous
rocks.
Volcanic regions of within-plate volcanism make
up spatially separate groups regarded as within-plate
volcanic provinces; the province of East and Central
Asia is the largest one. This province comprises a num-
ber of spatially separate and structurally unrelated vol-
canic regions that evolved during, at least, the last
30 Ma [36, 38]. The Maritime and Central Asian sub-
provinces are distinguished in geological structure and
composition of igneous rocks. The Maritime subprov-
ince (Fig. 2, region Va) is characterized by NE-trending
grabens, which are traced along the continental margin
and determine the linear distribution of the rift-related
volcanic fields. Tholeiitic, subalkali, and alkali basalts
associated with locally occurring trachyrhyolites,
comendites, and pantellerites are predominant.
The volcanic regions of the Central Asian subprov-
ince (Fig. 2, region Vb) are scattered between the Sibe-
rian and Chinese platforms. Systems of grabens (rifts),
for example, the Baikal Rift System, are conjugated
with some volcanic regions. In general, however, volca-
nic activity was unrelated to graben formation and
largely developed beyond the rift basins [35, 36].
Melanephelinite, basanite, trachybasalt, and basaltic
trachyandesite are typical. This volcanic subprovince
extends into Southeast Asia up to the western margin of
the Pacific Ocean.
The Northeastern within-plate volcanic province
(Fig. 2, region VI) is characterized by sporadic occur-
rences of late Miocene to Holocene volcanic rocks in
the form of separate lava flows, cinder cones,
melanephelinitic, basanitic, and basaltic stocks and
dikes known from Chukchi Peninsula and Alaska.
Some of the volcanic centers are controlled by plate
boundaries with high present-day seismicity, e.g., the
Moma Graben at the Asian continental extension of the
Gakkel Ridge. Other centers are located far from the
plate boundaries.
The Central African–Central European (CACE) and
the East African–Transcaucasus (EATC) transconti-
nental near-meridional rift belts are selected as a spe-
cial group of within-plate volcanic regions. These belts
are characterized by cross-cutting orientation with
respect to the Eurasian, African, and Arabian lithos-
pheric plate boundaries and the Tethyan collision vol-
canic belt [19, 34]. The CACE Belt (Fig. 2, region VII)
is marked by Late Cenozoic volcanic fields and grabens
of the Central Europe Rift System, in particular, the
Rhine Graben; the Mediterranean region (Pantelleria,
Sardinia, Roman Province); and Northwest Africa
(Tibesti, Jabal Haraji, Air, Ahaggar) up to the Gulf of
Guinea.
The EATC Rift Belt (Fig. 2, region VIII) is traced
from the Forecaucasus (Mineral’nye Vody district) to
Tanzania. In the Alpine Fold System, this belt is marked
by volcanic fields of the Transcaucasus Transverse
Rise, where more than half of the total volume of late
orogenic igneous rocks of the Mediterranean Belt were
formed from the late Miocene to Quaternary [19]. To
the south, in the Arabian Shield, the belt is traced by
volcanic fields and grabens of the Levant System and
Red Sea Graben passing further southward into the East
African Rift System.
In conclusion of this section, it should be noted that
the occurrences of recent volcanism in North Eurasia
are controlled by the boundaries of the lithospheric
plates. In the arctic segment of the belt of volcanic
regions, these boundaries are of divergent character,
whereas in the eastern and southern segments they are
mainly related to convergent plate boundaries in the
form of island arcs and zones of continental collision.
GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT
VOLCANISM AND A GENERAL MODEL
OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY IN NORTH EURASIA
The relationship of recent volcanism in North Eur-
asia to various types of lithospheric plate boundaries is
rather evident and in some regions does not contradict
the dependence of igneous rock compositions on the
geodynamic mechanisms of magmatic melt formation.
For example, magmatism of the Gakkel Ridge corre-
sponds to the MOR setting, while the igneous associa-
tions of the Aleutian, Kamchatka, and Kuril island arcs
are typical of subduction zones. The magmatism of the
Alpine–Himalayan Belt of continental collision fits, to
a great extent, the mechanisms inherent to convergent
plate boundaries. At the same time, the evolution of
recent volcanism in North Eurasia raises questions,
which are left without answers in terms of commonly
accepted geodynamic systematics. (1) Why does the
recent volcanism that makes up the marginal belt of
Eurasia practically not enter into the Russian and Sibe-
rian platforms as its ancient core? (2) Why are volcanic
rocks different in composition and commonly formed
in different geodynamic settings closely associated in
space and time? (3) What are the geological and geody-
namic implications of the within-plate volcanic associ-
ations widespread in zones of recent magmatism?
(4) What geological and geodynamic processes are
responsible for the formation of recent volcanism in
North Eurasia?
When discussing these and some other questions,
we will issue from the available general and regional
schemes of geological and tectonic correlation and
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA
0 Ma
200 Ma
Fig. 3. Continents of (a) present-day Earth and (b) Pangea
(200 Ma ago).
from the principles of deep geodynamics (plume tec-
tonics), plate tectonics, and the data of global seismic
tomography [5, 15, 25, 31, 32, 35, 36].
The neotectonic evolution of North Eurasia. As
was mentioned above, recent volcanism in North Eur-
asia was formed in different geodynamic settings con-
trolled by plate and plume tectonics [5, 15, 24, 25, 35,
37]. We cannot consider the entire tectonic history of
North Eurasia in this paper, and this is hardly necessary,
because a great number of publications concerning this
subject are available [2, 4, 22, 48, 49, to name only a
few]. Only the aspects of tectonic evolution related to
recent volcanism are pointed out here.
The continent of Eurasia was formed in the Late
Paleozoic (about 250 Ma ago) by amalgamation of the
continental blocks of Baltia, Siberia, Kazakhstan,
Tarim, and some smaller blocks during the closure of
the Asian and Ural paleooceans in the course of the
Variscan and Indosinian orogenies [48, 51] (Fig. 3).
The closure of the Iapetus paleoocean in the Late
Ordovician to the Early Silurian resulted in the amal-
gamation of the North American and Baltic cratons
with Greenland. The amalgamation of all of the afore-
mentioned continents together with the continents of the
southern hemisphere gave rise to the creation of the Pan-
gea supercontinent at the end of the Paleozoic (Fig. 3).
During the formation of Pangea, the arctic shelf was
consolidated into a single continental block by the Mid-
dle Triassic as a result of the collision of numerous ter-
ranes of West Siberia from the Spitsbergen islands to
the eastern boundary of the Laptev Sea. At that time, a
vast epicontinental shallow-water basin with numerous
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
343
180 Ma
0 Ma 0 Ma
0 Ma
0 Ma 180 Ma 180 Ma
50 Ma
1
2 3
Fig. 4. Lithospheric plates buried during the last 180 Ma:
results of calculation, after [49]. (1) subducted plates;
(2) plates subducted beneath Eurasia; (3) vectors and linear
displacements of lithospheric plates during their conver-
gence. The origin of the arrow indicates the plate margin at
the beginning of convergence and the end of arrow, the
present-day position of the plate margin. Numerals are the
time intervals when the plates were displaced. According to
the reconstructions, deepwater trenches migrated toward
the Pacific Ocean and to the north in the territory of Tethys.
islands separated by rifts filled with plateau basalts
occupied the place of the present-day Arctic Ocean [2].
Pangea was broken up approximately 200 Ma ago
into Laurasia and Gondwana. In the Mesozoic and
Early Cenozoic, Gondwana disintegrated into Africa,
South America, India, Australia, and Antarctica,
whereas Laurasia broke up into Eurasia and North
America. This breakup eventually led to the closure of
the South Anyui Basin, which corresponded in the Cre-
taceous to the northern Pacific Ocean that divided the
Eurasian and North American plates in the east. The
lithosphere of this basin was subducted beneath East
Eurasia in the Early Cretaceous with the formation of
the South Anyui Suture Zone [2].
The enormous mass of the oceanic lithosphere was
subducted when Eurasia was being formed (Fig. 4). In
the East Mediterranean, the African Plate was sub-
ducted beneath the European continent; the Arabian
Plate, beneath Asia Minor and the Caucasus; the Indo-
Australian Plate, beneath Central Asia. In this way, the
Eurasian continent expanded to the south. In the east,
Eurasia has grown during the last 180 Ma largely by
subduction of the oceanic crust because of the absence
of large continental masses in this part of the Pacific,
except Kamchatka, which collided with East Asia. The
subduction and related cooling of the mantle beneath
Eurasia continue to the present day. The calculated
lengths of the subducted lithosphere for Japan were
10000 km over the last 100 Ma and 15000 km over the
last 150 Ma; 6500 km of the Tethys were consumed
over the last 100 Ma and 4500 km of the Himalayas
over the last 50 Ma. Similar estimates for the Western
Alps are 1100 km over the last 150 Ma and 500 km over
100 Ma [42, 46, 49]. This mass of the oceanic lithos-
pheric plates is established beneath the continent by
seismic tomography as a cold superplume, or a slab
344 KOVALENKO et al.

Fig. 5. Regions of high-velocity cold mantle of North Eurasia in the transitional zone at a depth of ~600 km, after [59]. View from
the North Pole. (1, 2) Continental plates: (1) continents proper and (2) continental shelf; (3) high-velocity cold mantle; (4) conver-
gent boundary. A–B–C is the line of the schematic section shown in Fig. 6.

graveyard (high-velocity seismic anomaly) almost
throughout the mantle from discontinuities at 410–660 km
down to layer D'' at the mantle–core interface [48, 49].
Low-velocity seismic anomalies (hot mantle regions)
are noted largely in the upper mantle at depths above
410–660 km. The aforementioned cold superplume
embraces practically the whole of Eurasia up to the
northern Urals and the North Sea and the Tethyan Med-
iterranean province (Fig. 5).
A quite different situation occurred in the Arctic
Region. The Canada Basin, as a part of the larger Amer-
asia Basin, opened here in the Early Cretaceous along
with the formation of the Franz Josef volcanic plateau,
which is combined with dike swarms and volcanic
flows of the arctic islands of Canada and Greenland into
the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP) [39,
44, 45, 47]. The center of the dike swarms recon-
structed at the moment predating the breakdown of
Greenland, Svalbard, and Franz Josef Land is outlined
at the northeastern margin of Queen Elizabeth Island
and referred to the effect of a mantle plume. According
to preliminary data, the formation of dike swarms
lasted through the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. The
Makarov Basin, with spreading in its axial zone and
subduction at its eastern margin, opened 120–90 Ma
ago [2]. Subduction was accompanied by island-arc
volcanism. The Alpha–Mendeleev volcanic plateau
arose above this subduction zone at the end of the Cre-
taceous [2]. Within-plate basic volcanic rocks were
formed at the same time at the continental shelf of Eur-
asia: the Hyperborean (De Long) Dome in the Canada
Arctic Archipelago and Cape Washington in the north
of Greenland. Spreading in the Gakkel Ridge started in
the Paleocene 53 Ma ago contemporaneously with the
opening of the Eurasia Basin [3], which continues to

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA
C B
Arctic
North America Basin
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Continental lithosphere
Arctic sedimentary basin
Transitional mantle
Low-velocity hot mantle
Fig. 6. Geodynamic settings that control formation of North Pangea supercontinent.
expand currently, with the development of tholeiitic
basaltic volcanism.
Thus, the geological history of the arctic part of North
Eurasia, on the one hand, and its eastern, southern, and
western portions, on the other hand, are different. The
eastern, southern, and western portions were character-
ized by long-term subduction that gave rise to the forma-
tion of the cold middle and lower mantle [26, 27],
whereas the geodynamics of the active arctic regions was
close to extension. Comparison of the northern and
southern groups of continents pertaining to Pangea, how-
ever, indicates that local extension in the northern part of
this supercontinent was weak. In the southern (Gond-
wana) part of Pangea, practically all present-day conti-
nents had been separated by that time, whereas in the arc-
tic part, the Atlantic spreading system expanded into the
Arctic Region with the formation of an insignificant
inner oceanic basin and the Gakkel Mid-Ocean Ridge
only in the Cenozoic [23, 33] (Fig. 1). Rifting in Arctica
was a local rather than a global phenomenon. As was
emphasized in [33], rifting and spreading in Arctica is of
incomplete character with repeated jumping of the
spreading axes. The geodynamic difference of the north-
ern and the southern parts of Pangea probably testifies to
the general retention of the supercontinental character of
its northern block. This was possible only if the astheno-
sphere and the mantle as a whole were relatively cold and
the lithospheric plates were retained as in a trap from the
Late Paleozoic until the present. If this was actually the
case, the incomplete rifting in Arctica, accompanied by
spreading, reflected local invasions of hot mantle
through the prevalent cold mantle material. Such expan-
sion of the hot mantle into Arctica had global conse-
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
345
A
Eurasia
Standard mantle
Subducted lithosphere and
high-velocity cold mantle
Mantle flow
quences only from the side of the Atlantic. Thus, the
recent geodynamic evolution of North Pangea supports
the data of global seismic tomography, indicating the
predominance of cold mantle in this part of the Earth.
In general, the Cenozoic geological history of Arc-
tica resembles the late stages of evolution of the super-
continents (Fig. 6). Eurasia, North America, and Green-
land with their shelves can be referred to such a super-
continent, where oceanic basins occupy less than 50%
of the Arctic Ocean and only a negligible portion of the
aforementioned continents (Fig. 7). If this suggestion is
valid, the Arctic Ocean itself should be regarded as an
intracontinental sedimentary basin typical of the evolved
supercontinent (cf. Fig. 6 and Fig. 15 from [48]). The
origination of a basin with oceanic crust and its connec-
tion with the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the separation of
North America and Greenland, are indications of the
subsequent breakdown of this supercontinent.
Within-plate magmatism of North Eurasia and
mantle plumes. The regions of recent volcanism in
North Eurasia are delineated on the map shown in
Fig. 1. These regions are related to the plate boundaries
and the territories situated beyond these boundaries,
i.e., the areas of within-plate reactivation. In addition to
these regions, magmatism with intraplate isotopic
geochemical and volcanological signatures is wide-
spread in the unusual setting, first of all, in the volcanic
regions of the collisional Alpine–Himalayan Belt. This
is an important point, and we will dwell on it below.
Let us estimate which volcanic occurrences shown
in the map are related to mantle plumes documented by
seismic tomography [60]. Only a few hotspots, charac-
346 KOVALENKO et al.

Can

EA SA
M

FJ

1 2 3 4 5 6

Fig. 7. Continents and regions of recent magmatism in the northern hemisphere of the Earth (view from the North Pole). (1, 2) Con-
tinental plates: (1) continents proper and (2) continental shelf; (3) oceanic plate; (4) recent volcanic fields; (5) convergent boundaries
in North Pangea; (6) microplate boundary. Tectonic elements (abbreviations in circles): Can, Canada Basin; M, Makarov Basin;
EA, Eurasia Basin; FJ, Franz Josef Islands; SA, South Anyui Suture.

terized in [60], are related to the occurrences of recent
volcanism in North Eurasia. A whole-mantle plume
that extends from the mantle–core interface is estab-
lished beneath the Eifel volcanic region in West
Europe. A low-velocity seismic anomaly is traced from
the mantle–core interface upward to the discontinuity
of 660 km, where it spreads in the northwestern direc-
tion. In the depth interval between 660 and 410 km, this
anomaly is interrupted by high-velocity cold mantle,
which is correlated with the subducted African Plate.
Low-velocity hot mantle material appears again above
a depth of 410 km.
Low-velocity seismic anomalies (hot mantle) are
detected above 410 km, in the transitional zone between
410–660 km, and below this zone beneath active within-

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA 347

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Fig. 8. Regions of low-velocity hot mantle (mantle plumes) in the upper mantle of North Pangea, after [7–9, 59, 60]. The hatched
circles are projections of mantle plumes. See Fig. 6 for other symbols.

plate volcanoes in the eastern part of North Eurasia
(Changbaishan, Pektusan, and Wudalianchi volcanoes).
A great number of mantle plumes are established in
Southeast and East Asia [49, 59]. Some occurrences of
recent volcanism shown in the map are related to these
plumes. The location of such plumes is demonstrated in
Fig. 8. They are traced from the Aleutian arc, along the
eastern margin of Eurasia up to New Zealand. The rela-
tion of plumes to several island arcs attracts attention.
In some cases, the plumes are confined to marginal
seas; however, as was emphasized by Maruyama [49],
a number of plumes cannot be referred to marginal
basins (Caroline, Fuji, Woodlark) because they occur
beyond the trench or are unrelated to shallow plate tec-
tonics. These plumes are characterized by low-velocity
S-wave anomalies that indicate hot mantle in the transi-
tional zone (410–660 km) [58] and deeper [59]. Near
the surface, especially in the continental part, these
anomalies are marked by occurrences of alkali and sub-
alkali basalts with OIB signatures [29] and, occasion-
ally, by tholeiitic basalts close to MORB in composi-
tion. This recent volcanism of East and Southeast Asia
has been called remarkable [50] because it is confined
to the region of a cold superplume [49] and requires a
special explanation of its geodynamic setting. The
authors mentioned above deemed that the occurrence of
a deep cold superplume in combination with high
endogenic activity, manifested not only in within-plate
volcanism but also in the formation of many micro-
plates (Fig. 8), often with marginal basins, is the main
geodynamic contradiction of this region. Both the vol-
canism in such basins and the within-plate characteris-
tics of the igneous rocks are explained by spreading.
The seismic tomography in the system of the Tonga

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

348 KOVALENKO et al.
island arc and marginal sea shows, however, that this
interpretation is dubious because the low-velocity
anomaly beneath the marginal sea extends to a depth
greater than 500 km, whereas the sources of spreading-
related magmas are commonly detected at a depth
above 100 km. We will return to this contradiction
below.
We should make separate mention of the deep struc-
ture of the Central Asian within-plate province, which,
in the opinion of some authors, is genetically related to
the processes that occur along the eastern convergent
boundary of the continent [7–9, 20, 59]. The idea of the
existence of hot mantle at the bottom of this province is
confirmed by geophysical data. The territory where the
asthenospheric mantle of South Siberia and Mongolia
rises to a depth of less than 100 km [6, 61, 63] is con-
toured in Fig. 9. In addition, the local juts of the
asthenophere, which attain the bottom of the crust at a
depth of about 50 km, e.g., in the South Baikal Basin,
are shown; they are interpreted as mantle plumes
[36, 63]. The location of these plumes coincides with
regions of Late Cenozoic volcanism (Fig. 9). In partic-
ular, the South Hangay, South Baikal, and Udokan
hotspots and the Vitim Plateau in the marginal part of
the North Baikal mantle salient correspond to the
plumes in their localization.
Zorin et al. [7–9] have established the location of
plume stems, which previously remained uncertain.
The gravity models of plume stems beneath the Baikal
Rift Zone and the highlands of Central Mongolia
(Figs. 10a, 10b) are consistent with the seismic data on
the distribution of group velocity of long-period Ray-
leigh waves (Fig. 10c) and azimuthal seismic anisot-
ropy (Fig. 10d) [7–9].
It turned out that the plume stems are located
beneath the thinned lithosphere, i.e, within the previ-
ously established asthenospheric salient [6, 62]. The
reduced thickness of the lithosphere above the plumes
is a rather typical phenomenon related to the thermal
effect [55]. As was stated in [9, 63], the asthenospheric
salient is composed of merging plume heads. Because
the plumes are melted as a result of decompression
largely in their head portions at a depth of 60–150 km
[10], the location of the fields of Neogene basalts is
determined, to a greater extent, by configuration of
asthenospheric salient rather than by the position of the
plume stem (Fig. 9). The existence of mantle plumes at
the bottom, at least of the South Hangay and South
Baikal regions was corroborated by seismic tomogra-
phy [17, 21, 22]. As a result, the thinned stem segments
of the plumes have been traced to a depth greater than
600 km. The geophysical data allow us to speak about
streams of low-velocity mantle beneath the volcanic
regions of Central Asia. These streams are mushroom-
shaped, as is typical of plumes, and ascend at least from
the upper and lower mantle boundaries up to the lower
edge of the lithosphere.
A low-velocity region of the mantle interpreted as a
hot or water-enriched mantle plume is detected at the
bottom of the western Mediterranean and in central
West Europe [43]. Such a mantle underlies almost the
entire western European region of recent within-plate
volcanism, including, first of all, the Central European
Rift Belt, as well as other districts of West Europe, the
East Atlantic, North Africa, and the West Mediterra-
nean (to the west of Italy). The mantle of this territory
is characterized by anomalously low velocities of P-
and S-waves over an area of 2500 × 4000 km2 and more
than 500 m in depth, mainly localizing in the transi-
tional zone. The occurrence of hot mantle is confirmed
by the high heat flow beneath the Central European Rift
Zone. As is suggested in [43], the occurrence of a strat-
iform hot plume in this region explains the develop-
ment of local extension against the background of
regional compression caused by subduction of the Afri-
can Plate beneath Eurasia. The lower temperature of
this plume in comparison with the superplumes is
explained by its shallow-seated position in the transi-
tional zone between the upper and lower mantle. The
same cause limits the spreading of recent volcanism in
West Europe and the Mediterranean and explains the
local rifting characterized by insignificant opening of
extension structural elements. This plume is similar to
the anomalous mantle of Central and East Asia in the
composition of igneous rocks (alkali, subalkali, and
less frequent tholeiitic basalts), localization in the tran-
sitional zone (410–660 km), and ambiguous relation-
ships to subduction zones. The control of particular vol-
canic fields by mantle anomalies is similar as well.
Thus, the relatively narrow mantle juts (hot fingers) at
the bottom of the Central French, Rhine, and Bogemian
massifs and the Panonian Basin ascend from the transi-
tional zone to the crust bottom [56, 67], like the afore-
mentioned salients at the bottom of the volcanic regions
in Central Asia.
Unfortunately, data of seismic tomography in the
arctic part of North Eurasia are lacking, so that some
suggestions stated below are based on analogy with the
regions underlain by mantle plumes.
The Jan Mayen plume located between the North
Atlantic and the Arctic Region and proved by seismic
tomography [60] is close to the Iceland plume in mor-
phology. This plume is traceable from the core–mantle
interface to the upper mantle (with several gaps) and
expands below the discontinuity of 660 km. It is evident
that volcanism is fed here by this plume.
Using the correlation between surface geology and
global seismic tomography for the substantiation of the
concept of plume tectonics, Maruyama [48, pp. 26 and
30] mentioned a plume beneath the North Pole amongst
the deep mantle plumes of the Atlantic. Unfortunately,
this plume was not shown in any of numerous figures
presented in the papers by Maruyama and other authors
engaged in global seismic tomography. If it is assumed
that the opening of the Atlantic Ocean during the break-
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA 349

102° 108° 114° 120°

3 Sib

4
Ud
5

56°
SB
Vit

al
aik
Saya
n

B
52° L.

SB

iy
nt
He
Han
48° gay

Dar
SH
Am

Mon
44°

40°

96° 102° 108° 114°

Fig. 9. Mountain systems and regions of recent volcanism in the south of Eastern Siberia and Central Mongolia with structural elements
of the lithosphere, after [63]. (1) Lava field, (2) plate and microplate boundaries, (3) asthenospheric rise at a depth of <100 km,
(4) asthenospheric salient (mantle plume) at a depth of <50 km, (5) dominating mountain peaks. Lithospheric plates and microplates
(inscriptions in figure): Sib, Siberian; Mon, Mongolian; Am, Amur; volcanic regions: SH, South Hangay, SB, South Baikal;
NB, North Baikal; Ud, Udokan; Vit, Vitim Plateau; Dar, Dariganga Plateau.

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

350 KOVALENKO et al.

(a) 102° 108° 114° 120° 60° (c) 102° 108° 114° 120° 60°
Gravity anomaly, Group Rayleigh

–10
mGal velocity, km/s
–30 –20 –10 0 10 III 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 3.9
–1
0 56° 3.8 56°
56° 4.0
56° –5
90°

–15
96° II 96°

–5
0 ÓL. Baikal
0 5 L. Baikal
52° – 52° Irkutsk
Irkutsk 52° ia Chita 52°
Russia Chita Russ
–5
Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude 3
Mongolia Mong L. Hövsgöl .8
olia

3.7
3.
5

48° –25 48° 7

–1

0
–1 15 IV 48° 48°

3.6
90° –
I

3.8
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar

10
4.0
–20

5
Ch Ch
ina ina

0
–5
–10
–15

44° 44° 44° 44°

–20 114° 114°
96° V 96°
102° 108° 102° 108°

(b) 120° 60° (d) 102° 108° IIIb

120° 60°
Gravity anomaly, 102° 108°
IIIb
mGal 60°
–30 –20 –10 0 10 IIIa
0
–5

–10
IIIa
56° II 56°
56° 90° 56°
96° II 96° L. Baikal
–5

52° –5 52° Irkutsk

Irkutsk 52° Russ Chita 52°
Chita ia
Ia Ia Ulan-Ude
–10 Ulan-Ude Mon
golia L. Hövsgöl
48° 48°
–2

–15 48° 48°

0

90° IV 90° IV
–25

Ib Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar
Ib
–10

Ch
ina
–15

–1

0
–5
0

44° 44° 44° 44°

0 114° 114°
96° –2 96°
102° V 108° 102° 108°
V
0 1000 2000 km

IV 1 2 3

Fig. 10. Interpretation of geophysical data for territory of Central Asia, after [7–9]. (a, b) Gravity models of plume stems: (a) long-
wave isostatic anomaly, (b) theoretical gravity effect of a set of cylindrical bodies whose upper and lower edges are located at depths
of 150 km and 420 km, respectively; (c) group velocity of Rayleigh waves for a period of 100 s. Projections of plume stems fall into
low-velocity regions; (d) seismic azimuthal anisotropy in the upper 200 km of the mantle. The directions of seismic anisotropy cor-
responding to the directions of material flow in the asthenosphere reveal a tendency to radial orientation relative to the plume stems.
(1) Projection of plume stem, (2) Late Cenozoic lava fields, (3) seismic stations and fast directions of anisotropy.

down of Pangea was controlled by a chain of mantle data and paleodynamic reconstructions [41, 51], this
plumes, it should be suggested that one of these plumes part of Eurasia was located at the polar latitudes and
was located at the northern end of the mid-ocean ridge periodically involved in within-plate reactivation
in the vicinity of the North Pole or, more likely, near the beginning from the Late Permian. The Siberian flood-
spreading Gakkel Ridge. basalt province, which started to form in the Late Per-
The available geological data on the formation his- mian–Early Triassic, embraced, in addition to the Sibe-
tory of the arctic portion of North Eurasia do not con- rian Platform, the Taimyr and New Siberian Islands,
tradict this suggestion. Judging from paleomagnetic and the Chukchi Peninsula. Basaltic eruptions in the

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA
Kara Sea occurred in the Triassic and Early Jurassic.
Rifting and formation of the Franz Josef volcanic pla-
teau took place in the Late Jurassic and the Early Cre-
taceous. The Cretaceous and Cenozoic history of the
Arctic Basin characterized above was also marked by
episodic within-plate activity. One such episode was
related to the formation of the large HALIP igneous
province, which comprised the Early Cretaceous
spreading magmatism of the Makarov Basin. The sec-
ond episode was the formation of the Late Cretaceous
Alpha–Mendeleev lava plateau; the third episode
started 53 Ma ago and led to the rise of the Gakkel
Ridge. Thus, the geological data testify to the active
mantle beneath the arctic territories, which affected the
lithosphere in a pulsatory manner and periodically gave
rise to the formation of large igneous provinces related
to the activity of mantle plumes.
This concept does not contradict the localization of
volcanic rocks of elevated alkalinity in Arctica. Such
volcanics are localized in the continental framework of
the Gakkel Ridge beyond the active spreading center,
similarly to the same rocks in the framework of the Red
Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which opened above the Afar
plume. Finally, submarine eruptions dated at the second
half of the 15th century, the first half of the 18th cen-
tury, and 1957 are noted along the Lomonosov Ridge at
a distance of 192 km to the southwest of the North Pole
[45]. The center of these eruptions was located at
88°16′ N and 65°36′ W near a seamount at the spurs of
the Lomonosov Ridge, which towers by 1500 m above
a bottom depth of 3000 m. Seismic activity is recorded
here, and fragments of basaltic hornblende and volca-
nic glass have been found. This seamount is an inferred
active volcano. The De Long Rise [30] and the eastern-
most part of the Chukchi Peninsula are also regarded as
presumable sites of plume location [1, 48, 49].
Kamchatka is characterized by a predominance of
island-arc recent volcanism. At the same time, in the
central part of the eastern shore of Kamchatka, where
the Emperor Ridge is approaching, the indications of
Cretaceous within-plate volcanism are pointed out as
evidence for the initial formation of this block in the
vicinity of the Hawaiian hotspot and its subsequent
traveling along with the Pacific Plate toward East Asia
[16]. If this was the case, the Kamchatka Block with
occurrences of within-plate volcanism was formed
under the effect of the Hawaiian mantle plume.
A general model of recent volcanic activity of
North Eurasia. As was mentioned above, the regions
of recent volcanism in North Eurasia are broadly con-
trolled by boundaries of lithospheric plates. In the Arc-
tic Region, a divergent-type boundary and related mag-
matism are localized in the spreading Gakkel Ridge and
its continental framework.
Recent volcanic regions are mostly controlled by
convergent boundaries of lithospheric plates that
encompass North Eurasia in the south as a semiring.
The character of the magmatism at these boundaries is
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
351
consistent with the mechanisms of magma generation
corresponding to such boundaries. Some differences
are likely determined by a special regime of boundary
formation. Their peculiarities are caused by the subduc-
tion of an enormous volume of lithospheric material
beneath North Eurasia in the Late Cretaceous and Cen-
ozoic (Figs. 4, 5) in combination with relatively con-
stant location of subduction zones. It may be suggested
that the storage of giant masses of cold subducted mate-
rial exceeding the overlying continental lithosphere in
volume must be accompanied by certain geological
effects and reflected in recent volcanic activity. This
specific character is expressed, first of all, in the abun-
dance of volcanic rocks having within-plate signatures
but occurring under atypical, as is supposed now, con-
ditions of convergent boundaries. The possible mecha-
nisms controlling such specificity are considered
below.
To characterize these mechanisms, it is necessary to
discern the geodynamic settings of shallow-seated plate
tectonics (down to a depth of 660 km) and deep geody-
namics that embraces the entire mantle down to layer D''
at the mantle–core interface. Deep geodynamics, cur-
rently called plume tectonics, is governed by whole-
mantle convection, which assumes sinking of the cold
subducted lithosphere deep into the mantle down to its
boundary with the Earth’s core and compensating
ascent of hot mantle flows in the form of superplumes
and smaller plumes. The subducted lithosphere can
drown in the lower mantle only when the density of the
buried mass exceeds the mantle density. This possibil-
ity is realized not always and not immediately after sub-
duction of the lithosphere into the transitional zone
410–660 km deep. Judging from the high-velocity seis-
mic anomalies established by global seismic tomogra-
phy in the mantle beneath Eurasia and, to a lesser
extent, beneath America, considerable time is required
for transformation of the subducted lithosphere into
high-density aggregations. For example, the subduction
beneath Asia on the side of Pacific Ocean lasted for no
less than 450 Ma. In some localities, this process
started much earlier, during the breakdown of the Rod-
inia supercontinent and the formation of the Pacific
Ocean. The last supercontinent, Pangea, formed largely
in the Permian and Triassic (Fig. 3), is retained in the
northern hemisphere until now (in its broad outlines)
with amalgamation of North America, Greenland, and
Eurasia. Indeed, the breakdown of North Pangea is
manifested not only in the appearance of newly formed
oceanic crust [33] but also in the separation of North
America and Greenland (rift of the Nares Strait) or
North America and Eurasia (rift of the Bering Strait).
This disintegration, however, does not compare in
scope with the separation of South America, Australia,
and Antarctica, and this difference allows us to suggest
the retention of the North Pangea supercontinent as an
intact mass. The Upper Paleozoic sediments of some
formerly existing basins have probably been retained
since Panthalassa on the shelf of the Arctic Ocean [4,
352 KOVALENKO et al.
33]. The Barents Sea Basin, filled with Upper Paleozoic
and Triassic sequences of immense thickness, is an
example [33]. Precisely at that time, the lithospheric
plates subducted to the transitional zone beneath this
part of the supercontinent became able to sink at the
mantle’s bottom with formation of a huge high-velocity
seismic anomaly, or cold superplume [48, 49]. Since
this moment, the system of global mantle convection
has changed.
For reasons so far ambiguous, cold superplumes
gave way to hot plumes and are followed by breakdown
of supercontinents. The breakdown of Pangea is a strik-
ing example in this respect (Fig. 3). It is evident that
this process is controlled by the thermal state of the
mantle beneath the supercontinent. Judging from the
data of seismic tomography, North Pangea is underlain
mainly by cold mantle, whereas the piece of Pangea
located in the southern hemisphere is underlain by hot
mantle and therefore was fragmented into South Amer-
ica, India, Australia, and Antarctica. The northern part
of the supercontinent remained relatively calm because
of ceaseless subduction of enormous masses of the cold
lithosphere, which suppressed the hot mantle that
existed beneath this part of the supercontinent as well.
The occurrence of the hot mantle related to the lower
mantle plume made itself felt by periodic breaching to
the surface at arctic latitudes. As was mentioned above,
such breaches resulted in the formation of Siberian pla-
teau basalts; the Jurassic rifting and magmatism in the
East Siberian and Chukchi seas and the arctic margin of
Alaska [33]; and the Cretaceous activity with formation
of the HALIP (see above).
The ongoing subduction beneath North Eurasia
from the east to the south did not permit progress in
these processes. The prevalence of compression over
extension was most obvious during the formation of the
Siberian flood basalt province. Despite the vigorous
within-plate processes in North Eurasia 250 Ma ago,
they did not lead to the breakup of the lithosphere and
formation of a new ocean. Spreading was suppressed at
that time, as well as later, in the Early Cretaceous, when
the evolution of the HALIP did not give rise to the
opening of a new ocean. Spreading reactivated only in
the Early Cenozoic in connection with opening of the
North Atlantic and development of the Iceland and Jan
Mayen plumes. A new Eurasia Basin with the spreading
Gakkel Ridge was opened about 53 Ma ago and the
young Arctic Ocean started to evolve at that time [4].
Taking into account that the zones of continental
breakup are formed between mantle plumes [40], it
should be supposed that one more plume existed near
the eastern end of the Gakkel Ridge. As was suggested
above, it could have been a younger mantle plume
beneath the North Pole or a new pulse of the HALIP
plume probably accompanied by other smaller plumes
(De Long, Bering, etc.). In contrast to other spreading
basins of the world, the Arctic oceanic basin is smaller
in size and characterized by a low spreading rate, prob-
ably as a result of ongoing accumulation of cold lithos-
pheric material beneath the continent. Nevertheless, it
is more reasonable to refer recent arctic volcanism to
the activity of the aforementioned plumes (Fig. 8),
which gave birth to the Gakkel Ridge. Thus, recent
basic volcanism of elevated alkalinity in the arctic part
of North Pangea is most likely caused by within-plate
activity of mantle plumes, whereas tholeiitic volcanism
is related to zones of shallower spreading.
A more complicated situation arises with interpreta-
tion of the geodynamic nature of recent volcanism in
the southern tract of volcanic regions in North Eurasia.
The main point of contention regarding this interpreta-
tion is the cause of the formation of the mantle plumes
that produce basic magmatism of elevated alkalinity in
the part of North Eurasia underlain by a cold super-
plume. The simplest possible explanation is related to
the mass balance in the lower mantle, when the cold
material of subducted plates sinks to the mantle–core
interface or another deep-seated discontinuity. It is evi-
dent that this material must squeeze out a deep-seated
hot material, and the latter will ascend as lighter hot
plumes through the cooled mantle. As follows from the
structure of the mantle at the convergent boundaries in
East and Southeast Asia [59], a part of compensating
material ascends immediately near the convergent
boundary (Fig. 11), and the remainder is involved in
whole-mantle convection, compensating the consump-
tion of material for the formation of a new crust in
MOR and activity of mantle hot spots. If the cold litho-
spheric plates actually accumulated beneath Central
Eurasia, North America, and Greenland at the mantle–
core interface (slab graveyard, after Maruyama), it is
natural to assume that the hot material of the lower
mantle or layer D'' would be squeezed out to the periph-
ery of this graveyard, that is, to the southern periphery
of North Eurasia, North America, and Greenland, i.e.,
to the margin of the North Pangea supercontinent.
Miyashiro [50] referred this volcanism (remarkable, in
his terms) to a hot region of the mantle. As follows from
the data of global seismic tomography, this suggestion
comes into conflict with the actual occurrence of cold
mantle beneath Asia. Zhao [49, 59] supposed that Ter-
tiary and Quaternary volcanism of East Asia is related
to the formation of a big mantle wedge, whose dimen-
sions are determined not only by the zone of subduction
of the Pacific Plate beneath Asia but also by near-hori-
zontal extension of this zone in the transitional mantle
at a depth of 410–660 km for almost 1500 km west-
ward. This idea in application to the Baikal region was
developed by Zorin [7–9] (Fig. 12). It is inferred that
dehydration of hydrosilicates retained in a stagnant slab
resulted in entering of fluids into the asthenosphere and
brought about its upwelling [61], which, in turn, gave
rise to the generation of basaltic magmas and rifting.
Because Central Mongolia and the Baikal region are
situated more than 1500 km to the west of the gently
dipping stagnant slab, it is assumed that subduction is
accompanied by development of a convective cell elon-
gated in the horizontal direction in the asthenosphere of
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA 353

(a) (a)

0 Projections of
mantle plumes

500
0 1000
2000
1000 300
0
A
400
0
1500 50
00

2000 B
60
00
Sub-
2500 duction
zones
(b)
3000 4000
0 (b) 2000 5000
1000 600 B
Ä 0
500

1000
0
1500 100
m
h, k

2000 200
0
pt
De

2500 273
0
–1 0 1 (100 ΔVp/V)
Alkali basalts Island-arc
(c) magmatism

–1% 0% +1% 0 Continental Lithosphere

200
Fig. 11. (a) Deep structure of the mantle at convergent Plume Fertilized peridotite
Depth, km

boundaries of the western Pacific Ocean, after [59], and 400

(b) a model of convective flows at these boundaries. Transitional
600 zone

800 Subducted slab

the mantle wedge [5]. It is suggested that the ascending
branch of this convective cell may be taken outside the
stagnant slab and, in particular, extend to the bottom of
the Baikal Rift System and the highland of Central
Mongolia [7–9]. The batches of material emerging as an
ascending branch of convective flow must acquire an ener-
getically advantageous droplike or columnar [55] config-
uration, in other words, behave as plumes (Fig. 12).
This model does not rule out the aforementioned
mechanism of balanced cold and hot mantle during the
sinking of slabs. The model assumes a certain relation-
ship between the plunging oceanic lithospheric plate
and intracontinental volcanic regions, which is not
observable in the surface regional geology. This model,
however, meets a number of contradictions. Thus, it is
hard to imagine how the composition and character of
magmatism and the unchanged location of volcanic
regions in the structure of the lithosphere could have
been retained for 150 Ma if the configuration of the
1000 Lower mantle
1200
Fig. 12. Structure of the mantle in East Eurasia and a model
of the formation of mantle plumes beneath the Baikal Rift
Zone and the highland of Central Mongolia: (a) section line;
(b) mantle section, after [61]; and (c) a model, after [7–9].
According to the model, the batches of heated and fertilized
peridotite are detached from a stagnant slab sinking into the
lower mantle. After separation, these batches emerge
through the upper part of the transitional zone and are
involved in convection. The ascending branch of this con-
vection breaks into particular streams, which are regarded
as upper mantle plumes.
subduction zones in East Asia was changed repeatedly
with substantial recession for more than 1500 km from
the Lesser Khingan in the Early Cretaceous to Japan at

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009

354 KOVALENKO et al.
Eurasia
North America Basin
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
km
Continental lithosphere
Transitional mantle
Low-velocity hot mantle
Fig. 13. A geodynamic model of the formation of the North Pangea supercontinent.
present. It should also be kept in mind that igneous
rocks typically have within-plate compositional signa-
tures without indication of island-arc specificity.
Finally, the concentration of volcanic activity in several
regions could not have been related to a single convec-
tive system in the asthenosphere of a big mantle wedge.
It has been suggested that the mantle plumes in East
Asia bear a hydrous (0.2 wt % H2O in mantle source)
rather than thermal character owing to the intense dehy-
dration of a huge mass of subducted plates [49]. Smith
[52] explained this magmatism by its links to a DUPAL
source that arose in the metasomatized mantle wedge
formed as a result of subduction or ascent of hydrous
mantle plumes due to the exsolution of wadsleyite into
olivine and hydrous melt enriched in LILE at a depth of
410 km. This idea is not yet supported by direct obser-
vations concerning the water content in basic magmas.
The first available data on melt inclusions show that the
melts were dry and the water content therein was not
higher than the average H2O concentration in OIB [13].
Thus, the aforesaid allows us to accept the model of
mass balance in the mantle.
In summary, the model of recent volcanism in North
Eurasia may be presented as follows (Fig. 13). In the
course of breakup of Pangea, its northern part was
retained as a large aggregation of continents, which can
be considered a supercontinent. The subduction along
their common framework determined the stability of
this group of landmasses and prevented their fragmen-
tation. The volume of the supercontinent increases
along the convergent boundaries surrounding the stable
platform of North Eurasia, and these boundaries were
crucial for the localization of volcanic regions. The
composition and mode of occurrence of recent volcanic
rocks (except within-plate varieties) were controlled, to
a great extent, by the processes occurring at plate
boundaries and by sublithospheric processes related to
the activity of mantle plumes. The long-term subduc-
tion of lithospheric plates beneath Eurasia and North
America led to the accumulation of cold lithospheric
Pacific
Eurasia superplume
Standard mantle
Subducted lithosphere and
high-velocity cold mantle
Mantle flow
material and the cessation of convection in the hot man-
tle. The activity of the mantle plume in the Polar Region
of the Earth has been suppressed since the Late Per-
mian; the material of the hot mantle has reached the
Earth’s surface only sporadically. The recent phase of
plume activity has given rise to the formation of the
Gakkel Spreading Ridge and to eruptions of within-
plate alkali basalts scattered at the periphery of the oce-
anic basin. The low spreading rate in the Arctic Ocean
testifies to the locking effect of the buried cold mantle
on the activity of the hot mantle. We suggest that the
specificity of the magmatic processes at the convergent
boundaries of North Eurasia was related to compensat-
ing convective motions of the mantle in the zones
affected by subduction boundaries. The sinking lithos-
pheric plates are components of whole-mantle convec-
tion. At the same time, the nonsteady state of the sub-
duction branch of the convection loop and the occur-
rence of stagnant and fragmented slab segments give
rise to the formation of additional convective cells and
the ascent of hot mantle flows, which compensate the
sinking lithospheric slabs.
The formation of mantle plumes as a result of deep
mantle convection was accompanied by collision- and
subduction-related shallow-seated magmatism in the
southern and eastern parts of North Eurasia. In the Arc-
tic Region, deep-seated plume magmatism (basic rocks
of elevated alkalinity) was accompanied by shallow
spreading magmatism (tholeiitic basalts).
CONCLUSIONS
(1) A GIS layout of the map of recent volcanism of
North Eurasia has been compiled. Topographic and
neotectonis maps, as well as maps of active faults and
distribution of earthquake sources presented as separate
layers served as a structural base of the layout. Regions
of recent volcanism projected on these maps provide
insights into the links of volcanic activity with indepen-
dent parameters of recent endogenic processes and
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
 GEODYNAMIC SETTING OF RECENT VOLCANISM IN NORTH EURASIA
have allowed us to estimate the main trends in the evo-
lution of recent volcanism in North Eurasia.
(2) Recent volcanism in North Eurasia occurs
around the Russian and Siberian platforms—the largest
ancient tectonic blocks of Eurasia—embracing the Arc-
tic Region of Eurasia and extending in its southern part
from the Northeast and Far East of Russia via Central
Asia and the Caucasus toward West Europe.
(3) The asymmetry in the spatial distribution of
recent volcanism in North Eurasia is expressed in vari-
ation of the composition and geodynamic setting of
igneous rocks. The arctic part of North Eurasia is char-
acterized by the occurrence of within-plate alkali and
subalkali basalts on the islands of the Arctic Ocean and
the tholeiitic basalts in the Gakkel Ridge. The southern,
eastern, and western segments of the tract of recent vol-
canism are characterized by a combination of within-
plate alkali and alkaline basalts (including carbonatites
in Afghanistan), and collision basalt–andesite–rhyolite
associations.
(4) In the course of the formation of the Pangea
supercontinent, an enormous mass of oceanic lithos-
phere was subducted, first of all, beneath Eurasia. This
mass of oceanic lithospheric plates is recorded by seis-
mic tomography as a cold superplume (high-velocity
seismic anomaly) for the entire depth interval from the
discontinuity of 410–660 km to layer D'' at the mantle–
core interface. At that time, an epicontinental basin
existed on the place of the Arctic Ocean, as is typical of
supercontinents. After the breakdown of Pangea, sub-
duction beneath Eurasia has proceeded from the south
and the east until the present day with ongoing growth
of the cold superplume.
(5) In brief terms, our model of the formation of
recent volcanism in Eurasia is stated as follows. In gen-
eral, the volcanic activity is controlled by the bound-
aries of the lithospheric plates that limit the territory of
North Eurasia and determined by the geodynamic
regimes at these boundaries. The eastern and southern
limitations correspond to convergent boundaries and
the related volcanic regions are characterized by supra-
subduction setting. The widespread within-plate volca-
nic rocks are controlled by mantle plumes, which
appear in convergent zones owing to ascending flows
from deep hot mantle that compensated plunging of the
lithospheric slabs.
Since the breakdown of Pangea, which affected this
supercontinent in the northern hemisphere of the Earth
only a little, marine basins with oceanic crust started to
form in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic as manifestations
of further breakdown of the supercontinent. In our
opinion, the young ocean that existed before the
appearance of the Gakkel Ridge and, probably, the oce-
anic portion of the Amerasia Basin can be regarded as
forming a typical basin within the supercontinent [48].
Most likely, this basin was formed under the effect of
mantle plumes, including an inferred plume beneath the
North Pole, which developed to the north of the Central
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 43 No. 5 2009
355
Atlantic and was responsible for the eruptions of tholei-
itic and alkali basalts in Arctica. In southern and eastern
North Eurasia, the within-plate plume magmatism was
accompanied by shallow-seated collision- and subduc-
tion-related magmatism, whereas shallow-seated
spreading magmatism (eruptions of tholeiitic basalts)
accompanied deep plume magmatism in Arctica.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by the Russian Founda-
tion for Basic Research (project nos. 08-05-00347,
08-05-00472) and the Presidium of the Russian Acad-
emy of Sciences (program no. 16).
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