Hawaii hotspot is growing, not cooling – geologists overturn long-held theory

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have found that the hotspot beneath Hawaii is not gradually cooling over millions of years as long assumed, but is behaving in the opposite way. The finding challenges a fundamental theory in geology about how deep-mantle hotspots evolve. The discovery may require a rethink of models used to explain volcanic activity worldwide.