The geological evolution of seamounts has distinct influence on their interactions with the ocean, their hydrology, geochemical fluxes, biology, resources, and geohazards. There are six geological evolutionary stages of seamounts: (1) small seamounts (100–1000-m height), (2) mid-sized seamounts (>1000-m height, > 700-m eruption depth), (3) explosive seamounts (< 700-m eruption depth), (4) ocean islands, (5) extinct seamounts, and (6) subducting seamounts. Throughout their lifetimes, seamounts offer major passageways for fluid circulation that promotes geochemical exchange between seawater and the volcanic oceanic crust, and seamounts likely host significant microbial communities. Water circulation may be promoted by hydrothermal siphons in conjunction with the underlying oceanic crust, or it may be driven by intrusions inside seamounts from Stage 2 onward. Geochemical fluxes are likely to be very large, primarily because of the very large number of Stage 1 seamounts. Intrusive growth of seamounts also initiates internal deformation that ultimately may trigger volcano sector collapse that likely peaks at the end of the main volcanic activity at large seamounts or islands. Explosive activity at seamounts may begin at abyssal depth, but it is most pronounced at eruption depths shallower than 700 m. Wave erosion inhibits the emergence of islands and shortens their lifespans before they subside due to lithosphere cooling. Once volcanism ends and a seamount is submerged, seamounts are largely unaffected by collapse or erosion. Throughout their histories, seamounts offer habitats for diverse micro- and macrobiological communities, culminating with the formation of coral reefs in tropical latitudes. Geological hazards associated with seamounts are responsible for some of the largest natural disasters recorded in history and include major explosive eruptions and large-scale landslides that may trigger tsunamis.

Staudigel, H., and D.A. Clague. 2010. The geological history of deep-sea volcanoes: Biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere interactions. Oceanography 23(1):58–71, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2010.62.

Almendros, J., B. Chouet, P. Dawson, and T. Bond. 2002. Identifying elements of the plumbing system beneath Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, from the source locations of very-long-period signals. Geophysical Journal International 148(2):303–312.

Amelung, F., S. Jonsson, H. Zebker, and P. Segall. 2000. Widespread uplift and ‘trapdoor’ faulting on Galápagos volcanoes observed with radar interferometry. Nature 407(6807):993–996.

Batiza, R., and J.D.L. White. 2000. Submarine lavas and hyaloclastites. Pp. 361–382 in Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. H. Sigurdsson, ed., Academic Press, San Diego.

Chadwick, W.W. Jr., K.V. Cashman, R.W. Embley, H. Matsumoto, R.P. Dziak, C.E.J. de Ronde, T.-K. Lau, N. Deardorff, and S.G. Merle. 2008a. Direct video and hydrophone observations of submarine explosive eruptions at NW Rota-1 Volcano, Mariana Arc. Journal of Geophysical Research 113, B08S10, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005215.

Chadwick, W.W., D.J. Geist, S. Jonsson, M. Poland, D.J. Johnson, and C.M. Meertens. 2006. A volcano bursting at the seams: Inflation, faulting, and eruption at Sierra Negra Volcano, Galápagos. Geology 34(12):1,025–1,028.

Chadwick, W.W. Jr., I.C. Wright, U. Schwarz-Schampera, O. Hyvernaud, D. Reymond, and C.E.J. de Ronde. 2008b. Cyclic eruptions and sector collapses at Monowai submarine volcano, Kermadec Arc: 1998–2007. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 9, Q10014, https://doi.org/10010.11029/12008GC002113.

Chadwick, W.W., D.A. Butterfield, R.W. Embley, V. Tunnicliffe, J.A. Huber, S.L. Nooner, and D.A. Clague. 2010a. Spotlight 1: Axial Seamount. Oceanography 23(1):38–39 

Chadwick, W.W., R.W. Embley, E.T. Baker, J.A. Resing, J.E. Lupton, K.V. Cashman, R.P. Dziak, V. Tunnicliffe, D.A. Butterfield, and Y. Tamura. 2010b. Spotlight 10: Northwest Rota-1 Seamount. Oceanography 23(1):182–183.

Clague, D.A., and G.B. Dalrymple. 1987. The Hawaiian-Emperor volcanic chain: Part I. Geologic evolution. Pp. 5–54 in Volcanism in Hawaii. R.W. Decker, T.L. Wright, and P.H. Stauffer, eds, US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1350.

Clague, D.A., and J.E. Dixon. 2000. Extrinsic controls on the evolution of Hawaiian ocean island volcanoes. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 1, 1010, https://doi.org/10.1029/ 1999GC000023.

Clague, D.A., J.G. Moore, and J.R. Reynolds. 2000. Formation of submarine flat-topped volcanic cones in Hawai’i. Bulletin of Volcanology 62(3):214–233.

Clague, D.A., J.B. Paduan, and A.S. Davis. 2009. Widespread strombolian eruptions of mid-ocean ridge basalt. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 180:171–188, https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jvolgeores.2008.08.007. 

Cowen, J.P., S.J. Giovannoni, F. Kenig, H.P. Johnson, D. Butterfield, M.S. Rappe, M. Hutnak, and P. Lam. 2003. Fluids from aging ocean crust that support microbial life. Science 299:120–123.

Danovaro, R., M. Canals, C. Gambi, S. Heussner, N. Lampadariou, and A. Vanreusel. 2009. Exploring benthic biodiversity patterns and hotspots on European margin slopes. Oceanography 22(1):16–25.

Delaney, P.T., R.P. Denlinger, M. Lisowski, A. Miklius, P.G. Okubo, A.T. Okamura, and M.K. Sako. 1998. Volcanic spreading at Kilauea, 1976–1996. Journal of Geophysical Research 103(B8):18,003–18,023.

Denlinger, R.P., and P.G. Okubo. 1995. Structure of the mobile south flank of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Journal of Geophysical Research 100(B12):24,499–24,507.

Dieterich, J.H. 1988. Growth and persistence of Hawaiian volcanic rift zones. Journal of Geophysical Research 93(B5):4,258–4,270.

Embley, R.W., E.T. Baker, D.A. Butterfield, W.W. Chadwick Jr., J.E. Lupton, J.A. Resing, C.E.J. de Ronde, K.-I. Nakamura, V. Tunnicliffe, J.F. Dower, and S.G. Merle. 2007. Exploring the submarine ring of fire. Oceanography 20(4):68–79.

Emerson, D., and C.L. Moyer. 2010. Microbiology of seamounts: Common patterns observed in community structure. Oceanography 23(1):148–163.

Etnoyer, P.J. 2010. Box 7: Deep-sea corals on seamounts. Oceanography 23(1):128–129.

Etnoyer, P.J., J. Wood, and T.C. Shirley. 2010. Box 12: How large is a seamount biome? Oceanography 23(1):206–209.

Fisher, R.V., and H.-U. Schmincke. 1984. Pyroclastic Rocks. Springer Verlag, Berlin, 472 pp.

Fisher, A.T., and C.G. Wheat. 2010. Seamounts as conduits for massive fluid, heat, and solute fluxes on ridge flanks. Oceanography 23(1):74–87.

Furnes, H., and H. Staudigel. 1999. Biological mediation in ocean crust alteration: How deep is the deep biosphere? Earth and Planetary Science Letters 166(3–4):97–103.

Garcia, M.O., E.H. Haskins, E.M. Stolper, and M. Baker. 2007. Stratigraphy of the Hawai’i Scientific Drilling Project core (HSDP2): Anatomy of a Hawaiian shield volcano. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 8, Q02G20, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GC001379.

Gillepsie, R.G., and D.A. Clague, eds. 2009. Encyclopedia of Islands. Encyclopedias of the Natural World, vol. 2, University of California Press, 1,111 pp.

Hart, S., H. Staudigel, A. Koppers, J. Blusztajn, E. Baker, R. Workman, M. Jackson, E. Hauri, M. Kurz, K. Sims, and others. 2000. Vailulu’u undersea volcano: The new Samoa. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 1(12):1056, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GC000108.

Hein, J.R., T.A. Conrad, and H. Staudigel. 2010. Seamount mineral deposits: A source of rare metals for high-technology industries. Oceanography 23(1):174–189.

Hein, J.R., A. Koschinsky, P.E. Halbach, F.T. Manheim, M. Bau, J.-K. Kang, and N. Lubick. 1997. Iron and manganese oxide mineralization in the Pacific. Pp. 123–138 in Manganese Mineralization: Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Terrestrial and Marine Deposits. K. Nicholson, J.R. Hein, B. Bühn, and S. Dasgupta, eds, Special Publication 119, Geological Society of London.

Hill, D.P., and J.J. Zucca. 1987. Geophysical constraints on the structure of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes and some implications for seismomagmatic processes. Pp. 903–918 in Volcanism in Hawaii. R.W. Decker, T.L. Wright, and P.H. Stauffer, eds, US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1350.

Hilton, D.R., G.M. McMurtry, and F. Goff. 1998. Large variations in vent fluid CO₂/³He ratios signal rapid changes in magma chemistry at Loihi Seamount, Hawaii. Nature 396(6709):359–362.

Klein, F.W., R.Y. Koyanagi, J.S. Nakata, and W.R. Tanigawa. 1987. The seismicity of Kilauea’s magma system. Pp. 1,019–1,186 in Volcanism in Hawaii. R.W. Decker, T.L. Wright, and P.H. Stauffer, eds, US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1350.

Konter, J.G., H. Staudigel, J. Blichert-Toft, B.B. Hanan, M. Polve, G.R. Davies, N. Shimizu, and P. Schiffman. 2009. Geochemical stages at Jasper Seamount and the origin of intraplate volcanoes. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 10, Q02001, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GC002236.

Konter, J.G., H. Staudigel, S.R. Hart, and P.M. Shearer. 2004. Seafloor seismic monitoring of an active submarine volcano: Local seismicity at Vailulu’u Seamount, Samoa. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 5, Q06007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GC000702.

Koppers, A.A.P., H. Staudigel, J.R. Wijbrans, and M.S. Pringle. 1998. The Magellan seamount trail: Implications for Cretaceous hotspot volcanism and absolute Pacific Plate motion. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 163(1–4):53–68.

Koppers, A.A.P., and A.B. Watts. 2010. Intraplate seamounts as a window into deep Earth processes. Oceanography 23(1):42–57.

Koppers, A.A.P., H. Staudigel, S.R. Hart, C. Young, and J.G. Konter. 2010. Spotlight 8: Vailulu’u Seamount. Oceanography 23(1):164–165.

Lavelle, J.W., and C. Mohn. 2010. Motion, commotion, and biophysical connections at deep ocean seamounts. Oceanography 23(1):90–103.

Leslie, S.C., G.F. Moore, and J.K. Morgan. 2004. Internal structure of Puna Ridge: Evolution of the submarine East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 129(4):237–259.

Lupton, J.E. 1996. A far-field hydrothermal plume from Loihi Seamount. Science 272(5264):976–979.

Lupton, J., D. Butterfield, M. Lilley, L. Evans, K.-I. Nakamura, W. Chadwick Jr., J. Resing, R. Embley, E. Olson, G. Proskurowski, and others. 2006. Submarine venting of liquid carbon dioxide on a Mariana Arc volcano. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 7, Q08007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GC001152.

McBirney, A.R. 1963. Factors governing the nature of submarine volcanism. Bulletin of Volcanology 26:455–469.

McMurtry, G.M., G.J. Fryer, D.R. Tappin, I.P. Wilkinson, M. Williams, J. Fietzke, D. Garbe-Schoenberg, and P. Watts. 2004. Megatsunami deposits on Kohala Volcano, Hawaii, from flank collapse of Mauna Loa. Geology 32(9):741–744.

Moore, J.G., and D.A. Clague. 2002. Mapping the Nu’uanu and Wailau landslides in Hawaii. Pp. 223–244 in Hawaiian Volcanoes: Deep Underwater Perspectives. E. Takahashi, P.W. Lipman, M.O. Garcia, J. Naka, and S. Aramaki, eds, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.

Moore, J.G., and D.J. Fornari. 1984. Drowned reefs as indicators of the rate of subsidence of the Island of Hawaii. Journal of Geology 92(6):752–759.

Moore, J.G., B.L. Ingram, K.R. Ludwig, and D.A. Clague. 1996. Coral ages and island subsidence, Hilo drill hole. Journal of Geophysical Research 101(B5):11,599–11,605.

Peckover, R.S., D.J. Buchanan, and D. Ashby. 1973. Fuel-coolant interactions in submarine volcanism. Nature 245(5424):307–308.

Pitcher, T.J., M.R. Clark, T. Morato, and R. Watson. 2010. Seamount fisheries: Do they have a future? Oceanography 23(1):134–144.

Pitcher, T.J., T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos. 2007. Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 527 pp.

Robinson, L.F., J.F. Adkins, D.S. Scheirer, D.P. Fernandez, A. Gagnon, and R.G. Waller. 2007. Deep-sea scleractinian coral age and depth distributions in the Northwest Atlantic for the last 225,000 years. Bulletin of Marine Science 81(3):371–391.

Satake, K., J.R. Smith, and K. Shinozaki. 2002. Three-dimensional reconstruction and tsunami model of the Nu’uanu and Wailua gian Landslides, Hawaii. Pp. 333–346 in Hawaiian Volcanoes: Deep Underwater Perspectives. E. Takahashi, P.W. Lipman, M.O. Garcia, J. Naka, and S. Aramaki, eds, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.

Schiffman, P., and H. Staudigel. 1994. Hydrothermal alteration of a seamount complex on La Palma, Canary Islands: Implications for metamorphism in accreted terranes. Geology 22(2):151–154.

Schmidt, R., and H.U. Schmincke. 2000. Seamounts and island building. Pp. 383–402 in Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. H. Sigurdsson, ed., Academic Press, San Diego.

Scholz, C.H., and C. Small. 1997. The effect of seamount subduction on seismic coupling. Geology 25:487–490.

Staudigel, H., and S.R. Hart. 1983. Alteration of basaltic glass: Mechanisms and significance for the oceanic-crust seawater budget. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 47(3):337–350.

Staudigel, H., and H.U. Schmincke. 1984. The Pliocene seamount series of La Palma/Canary Islands. Journal of Geophysical Research 89(B13):11,195–11,215.

Staudigel, H., G. Feraud, and G. Giannerini. 1986. The history of intrusive activity on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 27(3–4):299–322.

Staudigel, H., H. Furnes, N. McLoughlin, N.R. Banerjee, L.B. Connell, and A. Templeton. 2008. 3.5 billion years of glass bioalteration: Volcanic rocks as a basis for microbial life? Earth-Science Reviews 89:156–176.

Staudigel, H., S.R. Hart, A.A.P. Koppers, C. Constable, R. Workman, M. Kurz, and E.T. Baker. 2004. Hydrothermal venting at Vailulu’u Seamount: The smoking end of the Samoan chain. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 5, Q02003, https://doi.org/10.1029/ 2003GC000626.

Staudigel, H., S.R. Hart, A. Pile, B.E. Bailey, E.T. Baker, S. Brooke, D.P. Connelly, L. Haucke, C.R. German, I. Hudson, and others. 2006. Vailulu’u Seamount, Samoa: Life and death on an active submarine volcano. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103:6,448–6,453.

Staudigel, H., A.A.P. Koppers, J.W. Lavelle, T.J. Pitcher, and T.M. Shank. 2010a. Box 1: Defining the word “seamount.” Oceanography 23(1):20–21.

Staudigel, H., A.A.P. Koppers, T.A. Plank, and B.B. Hanan. 2010b. Seamounts in the subduction factory. Oceanography 23(1):176–181.

Staudigel, H., T. Plank, W. White, and H.-U. Schmincke. 1996. Geochemical fluxes during seafloor alteration of the basaltic upper oceanic crust: DSDP Sites 417–418 (Overview). Pp. 19–38 in Subduction Top to Bottom. G.E. Bebout, D.W. Scholl, S.H. Kirby, and J.P. Platt, eds, American Geophysical Union Monograph 96.

Staudigel, H., C.L. Moyer, M.O. Garcia, A. Malahoff, D.A. Clague, and A.A.P. Koppers. 2010c. Spotlight 3: Lō`ihi Seamount. Oceanography 23(1):72–73.

Upton, B.G.J., and W.J. Wadsworth. 1972. Peridotitic and gabbroic rocks associated with the shield-forming lavas of Reunion. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 35(2):139–158.

Walker, G.P.L. 1987. The dike complex of Koolau Volcano, Oahu: Internal structure of a Hawaiian rift zone. Pp. 962–996 in Volcanism in Hawaii. R.W. Decker, T.L. Wright, and P.H. Stauffer, eds, US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1350.

Watts, A.B. 2001. Isostasy and Flexure of the Lithosphere. Cambridge University Press, 458 pp.

Watts, A.B., A.A.P. Koppers, and D.P. Robinson. 2010. Seamount subduction and earthquakes. Oceanography 23(1):166–173.

Wessel, P., D.T. Sandwell, and S.-S. Kim. 2010. The global seamount census. Oceanography 23(1):24–33.

Young, C.M. 2009. Hard-bottom communities in the deep sea. Pp. 39–60 in Ecology of Marine Hard-Bottom Communities: Patterns, Dynamics, Diversity, and Change. M. Wahl, ed., Ecological Studies, vol. 206, https://doi.org/10.1007/b76710, Springer.

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.