plume tail
plume tail noun: the narrow, column-like structure of a mantle plume, thought to cause continued hot spot volcanism after the plume head dissipates.
Noun
plume tail (plural plume tails)
- The narrow, column-like structure of a mantle plume, thought to cause continued hot spot volcanism after the plume head dissipates.
- The comparatively short initial eruptive phase is followed by tens of millions of years of less voluminous activity, as the plume tail slowly rises to the surface.2002, Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Earth: Introduction to Physical Geology, 7th edition, page 127
- The residual plume tail may remain active for tens of millions of years and, as plates move across the surface, it may form strings of volcanoes thousands of kilometers long such as those of Hawaii.2003, Francis Albarède, Geochemistry: An Introduction, page 139
Forms of plume tail
| plural | plume tails |
|---|---|
| alternative form | plumetail |
Questions about plume tail
- What does plume tail mean?
- Plume tail means the narrow, column-like structure of a mantle plume, thought to cause continued hot spot volcanism after the plume head dissipates.
- What part of speech is plume tail?
- Plume tail is a noun.
- What is the plural of plume tail?
- The plural of plume tail is plume tails.
Words near plume tail in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: plume tail (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “plume tail.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plume_tail. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.