Mauna Loa, the biggest volcano on Earth and one of the most active covers half the Island of

Hawaii. Just 35 miles to the northeast, Mauna Kea, known to native Hawaiians as Mauna a Wakea, rises
nearly 14,000 feet above sea level. To them it represents a spiritual connection between our planet and
the heavens above.

These volcanoes, which have beguiled millions of tourists visiting the Hawaiian islands, have also
plagued scientists with a long-running mystery: If they are so close together, how did they develop in
two parallel tracks along the Hawaiian-Emperor chain formed over the same hot spot in the Pacific
Ocean and why are their chemical compositions so different?

We knew this was related to something much deeper, but we couldnt see what, said Tim Jones, an
earth science Ph.D. student at Australian National University and the lead author of a paper published in
Nature on Wednesday that may hold the answer.

Mr. Jones and his colleagues developed a model that simulates whats happening in our planets mantle,
beneath the crust that we live on, offering a window to the center of the Earth or close to it. Their
study may one day allow a reconstruction of the history of the movement of Earths plates and the
processes linked to these movements over billions of years, like mass extinction events, diamond and oil
deposits, and changes in climate.

Mauna Loa, the biggest volcano on Earth and one of the most active covers half the Island of
Hawaii. Just 35 miles to the northeast, Mauna Kea, known to native Hawaiians as Mauna a Wakea, rises
nearly 14,000 feet above sea level. To them it represents a spiritual connection between our planet and
the heavens above.

These volcanoes, which have beguiled millions of tourists visiting the Hawaiian islands, have also
plagued scientists with a long-running mystery: If they are so close together, how did they develop in
two parallel tracks along the Hawaiian-Emperor chain formed over the same hot spot in the Pacific
Ocean and why are their chemical compositions so different?

We knew this was related to something much deeper, but we couldnt see what, said Tim Jones, an
earth science Ph.D. student at Australian National University and the lead author of a paper published in
Nature on Wednesday that may hold the answer.

Mr. Jones and his colleagues developed a model that simulates whats happening in our planets mantle,
beneath the crust that we live on, offering a window to the center of the Earth or close to it. Their
study may one day allow a reconstruction of the history of the movement of Earths plates and the
processes linked to these movements over billions of years, like mass extinction events, diamond and oil
deposits, and changes in climate.

But that didnt explain the separate tracks along which the volcanoes formed. By examining data from
the two volcanoes, Mr. Jones and his team suggested an alternative: The chemical signature, along with
this double-track volcanism as its called, occurred three million years ago when the plates above the
hot spot shifted direction, moving north. This shimmy rearranged zones of magma that are heated
under different pressures in the shallower part of the mantle when they cool, the volcanic rock that
results reflects this difference. Previously stacked on top of one another, the movement of the plates
exposed now geographically separates magma zones that fed the volcanoes individually.

This is the first paper that Im aware of that explains both the separation of the volcanoes and their
distinct composition, said Garrett Ito, an earth scientist at the University of Hawaii.

The team also predicted that in the future, the double-tracks will come back together into a single track.

I think both are equally plausible, but there are some tests that need to be done to confirm this recent
publication, said Dr. Ito, who studies mantle processes closer to the surface.

For example, Mauna Loa contains higher proportions of an igneous rock called pyroxenite, which comes
from subducted ocean crust that typically melts at deeper levels than the model suggests. And other
double-track volcanoes fueled by hot spots in the Pacific near the Galpagos, Marquesas and Samoa
islands need to be studied to confirm the new model.

But if they are right, scientists can reconstruct a history of the motion of the Earths plates and better
understand the mantle, miles from sight, that contributes to volcanoes, earthquakes and climate.

Were getting a sample of something that existed since the Earth has existed, Mr. Jones said.
Everythings been worked over and metamorphosed and folded and bent and squeezed and stretched
so many times that trying to get to what the initial rock was, is very difficult. Having these really
primitive samples is amazing.