Azores hotspot

The Azores is relatively young and is associated with a bathymetric swell, a gravity anomaly and ocean island basalt geochemistry.

[3] This unique location causes the area to have ridge-hotspot interaction with a variation of volcanic processes.

[4] The Mid Atlantic Ridge is a zone of extension that permits magma to rise, forming dikes and surface volcanism.

Gravity field modelling studies have shown that the crustal thickness in this area is 60% greater than normal and the spreading ridge is elevated.

[6] The increased melt production within the mantle may have supported a longer lived magma chamber causing the crust to be thicker.