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The shape of a plume conduit produced by melting solid paraffin block above a local heat source was studied experimentally as a function of the relative thermal power of the plume Ka = N/N1, where N1 is the power of the plume source and N1 is the power corresponding to the amount of heat transferred by conduction through the plume conduit to the surrounding solid paraffin block. The limiting power of the plume source at which the plume erupts at the Earth’s surface (Nlim1 = (1.35–1.60) × 1010 W) and the power at which the mushroom-shaped plume head formed at the base of the refractory layer (Nlim2 = (1.78–1.90) × 1010 W) with no horizontal mantle flow were determined. The dependence of the diameter of the base of the plume on the Ka number was established. The Ka value and the diameter of the plume base were determined for the Hawaiian and Iceland plumes, for the plume responsible for the formation of the Tunguska syneclise and for the McKenzie and Central Atlantic continental plateau-basalt provinces and for the Ontong Java and Manihiki oceanic lava plateaus.

Laboratory and numerical experiments simulating the heat transfer and flow structure of thermochemical mantle plumes provide insights into the mechanisms of plume eruption onto the surface depending on the relative thermal power of plumes Ka = N/N 1 , where N and N 1 are the heat transferred from the plume base to the plume conduit and the heat transferred from the plume conduit to the surrounding mantle, respectively, under steady thermal conduction. There are three main types of plumes according to the Ka criterion: (i) plumes with low thermal power (Ka < 1.15), which fail to reach the surface, (ii) plumes with intermediate thermal power (1.15 < Ka < 1.9), which occur beneath cratons and transport melts from depths below 150 km, where diamond is stable (diamondiferous plumes), and (iii) plumes with a mushroom-shaped head (1.9 < Ka < 10), which are responsible for large intrusive bodies, including batholiths. The volume of erupted melt and the depth from which the melt is transported to the surface are estimated for plumes of types (ii) and (iii). The relationship between the plume head area (along with the plume head diameter) and the relative thermal power is obtained. The relationship between the thickness of the block above the plume head and the relative thermal power is derived. On the basis of the results obtained, the geodynamic-regime diagram of thermochemical mantle plumes, including the plumes with Ka > 10, has been constructed.