Wilson’s theory was that: hot spots exist below tectonic plates, and they’re cause of these volcanoes.

　　Wilson的理論是：地殼板塊下存在著熱點，而它們正是這些火山產生的原因。

　　But what causes the hot spots? Hmm, well, the most popular theory that’s been proposed is the Plume Hypothesis.

　　但是什么導致了這些熱點的出現(xiàn)呢?已提出的理論中支持率最高的是地幔柱理論(Plume Hypothesis)。

　　According to this hypothesis, plumes, uh, basically columns of extremely hot magma.

　　根據(jù)這個理論，地幔柱......基本上就是極其炙熱的巖漿柱形物。

　　These plumes well up from deep inside the planet’s interior, maybe even as deep as its core,

　　這些地幔柱從地球內部的深層區(qū)域涌出，也許甚至有地核那么深，

　　and rise all the way up to melt through the Earth’s crust.

　　然后一路上涌熔化地殼。

　　Imagine a burning candle, and imagine moving a sheet of heavy paper slowly over the flame of the candle,

　　想象一下一根燃燒著的蠟燭，再想象一下慢慢把一張很厚的紙移到蠟燭火焰的上方，

　　you’re gonna get a series of burned spots in the paper.

　　你會看到紙上有一連串燒焦了的斑點。

　　Well, that’s just like what’s happening with the Hawaiian Islands, but instead of a sheet of paper, you’ve got a tectonic plate,

　　這和夏威夷群島正在發(fā)生的事情是一樣的，只不過那是一個地殼板塊，而不是一張紙，

　　and it’s moving over this plume of intensely hot magma.

　　它正移動到這種炙熱的巖漿火焰上方。

　　And rather than a series of burned spots in the paper,

　　與紙上一連串燒焦的斑點不同，

　　you’re getting a chain of volcanic islands where the hot plume melts though the crust under the Pacific Ocean at one point after another

　　出現(xiàn)的是一連串的火山島，在這里炙熱的地幔柱一個點接一個點地熔化了太平洋海底的地殼，

　　with active volcanoes on the younger islands that are now just above the plume.

　　而現(xiàn)在正處于巖漿火焰上方的形成時間較短的海島上有著活躍的火山。