Pacific Plate Apparent Polar Wander, Hot Spot Fixity, and True Polar Wander During the Formation of the Hawaiian Island and Seamount Chain From an Analysis of the Skewness of Magnetic Anomaly 20r (44 Ma)

While it is well documented that the Hawaiian hot spot has shifted southward relative to the spin axis since the formation of some of the Emperor seamounts, the paleolatitude of the hot spot during the formation of the Hawaiian chain is poorly known. To better determine the latter, here we estimate the location of the 44 Ma Pacific plate paleomagnetic pole by investigating the skewness (asymmetry) of 14 airplane and 19 ship‐board crossings of magnetic anomaly 20r between the Murray and Marquesas fracture zones on the Pacific plate. The new 44 Ma paleomagnetic pole (78.0°N, 26.0°E, A95_1 = 5.4° at 101°, A95_2 = 2.0°) differs by ≈4° from its position expected if the Pacific hot spots have been fixed relative to the spin axis. This shift is independently recorded by the chron 12r (32 Ma) Pacific plate skewness paleomagnetic pole and is also confirmed by paleomagnetic poles reconstructed from the continents, indicating that global hot spots have moved in unison with respect to the spin axis, probably due to true polar wander, which may continue today as recorded by optical astronomy and geodetic very long baseline interferometry. An analysis of spreading rates recorded in the magnetic profiles indicates that spreading rates doubled between ≈50 and ≈42 Ma (confirming prior results), as expected if the bend in the Hawaiian‐Emperor chain records a change in Pacific plate motion relative to the deep mantle. Key Points A new chron 20r (44 Ma) Pacific plate skewness paleomagnetic pole demonstrates an ≈4° shift of Pacific hot spots relative to the spin axis The shift is independently recorded by the chron 12r (32 Ma) Pacific plate skewness paleomagnetic pole Global hot spots have shifted coherently relative to the spin axis since 32 Ma indicating true polar wander