scholarly journals Regional Crustal and Lithospheric Thickness Model for Alaska, the Chukchi Shelf, and the Inner and Outer Bering Shelves

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Montserrat Torne ◽  
Ivone Jimenez-Munt ◽  
Manel Fernàndez ◽  
Jaume B¡verges ◽  
alberto carballo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Chukchi Shelf

scholarly journals Regional crustal and lithospheric thickness model for Alaska, the Chukchi shelf, and the inner and outer bering shelves

2019 ◽  
Vol 220 (1) ◽  
pp. 522-540
Author(s):  
Montserrat Torne ◽  
Ivone Jiménez–Munt ◽  
Jaume Vergés ◽  
Manel Fernàndez ◽  
Alberto Carballo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Crustal Thickness ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
Plate Motion ◽  
The South ◽  
Brooks Range ◽  
Potential Field Data ◽  
Denali Fault ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Chukchi Shelf

SUMMARY This study presents for the first time an integrated image of the crust and lithospheric mantle of Alaska and its adjacent western shelves of the Chukchi and Bering seas based on joint modelling of potential field data constrained by thermal analysis and seismic data. We also perform 3-D forward modelling and inversion of Bouguer anomalies to analyse density heterogeneities at the crustal level. The obtained crustal model shows northwest-directed long wavelength thickening (32–36 km), with additional localized trends of thicker crust in the Brooks Range (40 km) and in the Alaska and St Elias ranges (50 km). Offshore, 28–30-km-thick crust is predicted near the Bearing slope break and 36–38 km in the northern Chukchi Shelf. In interior Alaska, the crustal thickness changes abruptly across the Denali fault, from 34–36 to the north to above 30 km to the south. This sharp crustal thickness gradient agrees with the presence of a crustal tectonic buttress guiding block motion west and south towards the subduction zone. The average crustal density is 2810 kg m−3. The denser crust, up to 2910 kg m−3, is found south of the Denali Fault likely related to the oceanic nature of the Wrangellia Composite Terrane rocks. Offshore, less dense crust (<2800 kg m−3) is found along the sedimentary basins of the Chukchi and Beaufort shelves. At LAB levels, there is a regional SE–NW trend that coincides with the current Pacific Plate motion, with a lithospheric root underneath the Brooks Range, Northern Slope, and Chuckchi Sea, that may correspond to a relic of the Chukotka-Artic Alaska microplate. The obtained lithospheric root (above 180 km) agrees with the presence of a boundary of cold, strong lithosphere that deflects the strain towards the South. South of the Denali Fault the LAB topography is quite complex. East of 150°W, below Wrangellia and the eastern side of Chugach terranes, the LAB is much shallower than it is west of this meridian. The NW trending limit separating thinner lithosphere in the east and thicker in the west agrees with the two-tiered slab shape of the subducting Pacific Plate.

scholarly journals Regional Crustal and Lithospheric Thickness Model for Alaska, the Chukchi Shelf, and the Inner and Outer Bering Shelves

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Montserrat Torne ◽  
Ivone Jimenez-Munt ◽  
Manel Fernàndez ◽  
Jaume Verges ◽  
alberto carballo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Chukchi Shelf

scholarly journals Velocity structure and radial anisotropy of the lithosphere in southern Madagascar from surface wave dispersion

2020 ◽  
Vol 224 (3) ◽  
pp. 1930-1944 ◽  
Author(s):  
E J Rindraharisaona ◽  
F Tilmann ◽  
X Yuan ◽  
J Dreiling ◽  
J Giese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Receiver Functions ◽  
Dispersion Curves ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Seismic Structure ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Velocity Models ◽  
Phase Velocities ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Radial Anisotropy

SUMMARY We investigate the upper mantle seismic structure beneath southern Madagascar and infer the imprint of geodynamic events since Madagascar’s break-up from Africa and India and earlier rifting episodes. Rayleigh and Love wave phase velocities along a profile across southern Madagascar were determined by application of the two-station method to teleseismic earthquake data. For shorter periods (&lt;20 s), these data were supplemented by previously published dispersion curves determined from ambient noise correlation. First, tomographic models of the phase velocities were determined. In a second step, 1-D models of SV and SH wave velocities were inverted based on the dispersion curves extracted from the tomographic models. As the lithospheric mantle is represented by high velocities we identify the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary by the strongest negative velocity gradient. Finally, the radial anisotropy (RA) is derived from the difference between the SV and SH velocity models. An additional constraint on the lithospheric thickness is provided by the presence of a negative conversion seen in S receiver functions, which results in comparable estimates under most of Madagascar. We infer a lithospheric thickness of 110−150 km beneath southern Madagascar, significantly thinner than beneath the mobile belts in East Africa (150−200 km), where the crust is of comparable age and which were located close to Madagascar in Gondwanaland. The lithospheric thickness is correlated with the geological domains. The thinnest lithosphere (∼110 km) is found beneath the Morondava basin. The pre-breakup Karoo failed rifting, the rifting and breakup of Gondwanaland have likely thinned the lithosphere there. The thickness of the lithosphere in the Proterozoic terranes (Androyen and Anosyen domains) ranges from 125 to 140 km, which is still ∼30 km thinner than in the Mozambique belt in Tanzania. The lithosphere is the thickest beneath Ikalamavony domain (Proterozoic) and the west part of the Antananarivo domain (Archean) with a thickness of ∼150 km. Below the eastern part of Archean domain the lithosphere thickness reduces to ∼130 km. The lithosphere below the entire profile is characterized by positive RA. The strongest RA is observed in the uppermost mantle beneath the Morondava basin (maximum value of ∼9 per cent), which is understandable from the strong stretching that the basin was exposed to during the Karoo and subsequent rifting episode. Anisotropy is still significantly positive below the Proterozoic (maximum value of ∼5 per cent) and Archean (maximum value of ∼6 per cent) domains, which may result from lithospheric extension during the Mesozoic and/or thereafter. In the asthenosphere, a positive RA is observed beneath the eastern part Morondava sedimentary basin and the Proterozoic domain, indicating a horizontal asthenospheric flow pattern. Negative RA is found beneath the Archean in the east, suggesting a small-scale asthenospheric upwelling, consistent with previous studies. Alternatively, the relatively high shear wave velocity in the asthenosphere in this region indicate that the negative RA could be associated to the Réunion mantle plume, at least beneath the volcanic formation, along the eastern coast.

scholarly journals Anomalous azimuthal variations with 360° periodicity of Rayleigh phase velocities observed in Scandinavia

2020 ◽  
Vol 224 (3) ◽  
pp. 1684-1704
Author(s):  
Alexandra Mauerberger ◽  
Valérie Maupin ◽  
Ólafur Gudmundsson ◽  
Frederik Tilmann
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Shear Velocity ◽  
Velocity Variation ◽  
The South ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Phase Velocities ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Norway

SUMMARY We use the recently deployed ScanArray network of broad-band stations covering most of Norway and Sweden as well as parts of Finland to analyse the propagation of Rayleigh waves in Scandinavia. Applying an array beamforming technique to teleseismic records from ScanArray and permanent stations in the study region, in total 159 stations with a typical station distance of about 70 km, we obtain phase velocities for three subregions, which collectively cover most of Scandinavia (excluding southern Norway). The average phase dispersion curves are similar for all three subregions. They resemble the dispersion previously observed for the South Baltic craton and are about 1 per cent slower than the North Baltic shield phase velocities for periods between 40 and 80 s. However, a remarkable sin(1θ) phase velocity variation with azimuth is observed for periods &gt;35 s with a 5 per cent deviation between the maximum and minimum velocities, more than the overall lateral variation in average velocity. Such a variation, which is incompatible with seismic anisotropy, occurs in northern Scandinavia and southern Norway/Sweden but not in the central study area. The maximum and minimum velocities were measured for backazimuths of 120° and 300°, respectively. These directions are perpendicular to a step in the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) inferred by previous studies in southern Norway/Sweden, suggesting a relation to large lithospheric heterogeneity. In order to test this hypothesis, we carried out 2-D full-waveform modeling of Rayleigh wave propagation in synthetic models which incorporate a steep gradient in the LAB in combination with a pronounced reduction in the shear velocity below the LAB. This setup reproduces the observations qualitatively, and results in higher phase velocities for propagation in the direction of shallowing LAB, and lower ones for propagation in the direction of deepening LAB, probably due to the interference of forward scattered and reflected surface wave energy with the fundamental mode. Therefore, the reduction in lithospheric thickness towards southern Norway in the south, and towards the Atlantic ocean in the north provide a plausible explanation for the observed azimuthal variations.

The Western Limit of Iapetan Rifting in the Eastern United States: A New Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 3483-3495
Author(s):  
Christine A. Powell ◽  
William A. Thomas ◽  
Robert D. Hatcher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Atlantic Coastal Plain ◽  
Hazard Evaluation ◽  
Earthquake Activity ◽  
Blue Ridge ◽  
Mantle Structure ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Appalachian Plateau ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness

Abstract Specifying the extent and location of rifted, crystalline Precambrian crust in the eastern United States is important for seismic hazard evaluation and for models that relate upper-mantle structure to ancient tectonic features and ongoing tectonism. As currently depicted in the National Seismic Hazard Maps (NSHM), the western limit of Iapetan rifted crust is beneath the Appalachian plateau physiographic province, west of the Valley and Ridge province. New estimates of crustal thickness using EarthScope Transportable Array and other data do not support the presence of rifted crust beneath the Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian plateau physiographic provinces. Crustal thicknesses exceed 45 km throughout most of this region. The crust thins to the southeast beneath the southeastern part of the Piedmont physiographic province and is only 36 km thick near the edge of the Atlantic coastal plain. We suggest that the western limit of Iapetan rift-extended crust is east of the Blue Ridge province and is associated with the prominent Appalachian gravity gradient. This location coincides with palinspastic reconstructions based on geologic data for the Iapetan rifted margin. Recognition of thick crust beneath the Blue Ridge and Valley and Ridge provinces, unextended by Iapetan rifting, will support more robust modeling of the effects of mantle structure (such as delamination and abrupt changes in lithospheric thickness) on ongoing tectonism and earthquake activity in the eastern United States and will provide more accurate seismotectonic zonation in the NSHM.

Martian lithospheric thickness from elastic flexure theory

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 977-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Thurber ◽  
M. N. Toksöz
Keyword(s):  
Lithospheric Thickness

Towards constraining Mars' thermal evolution using machine learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddhant Agarwal ◽  
Nicola Tosi ◽  
Pan Kessel ◽  
Sebastiano Padovan ◽  
Doris Breuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Activation Energy ◽  
Enrichment Factor ◽  
Activation Volume ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Thermal Evolution ◽  
Diffusion Creep ◽  
Dynamic Simulations ◽  
Mixture Density ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Mantle Temperature

&lt;p&gt;The thermal evolution of terrestrial planets depends strongly on several parameters and initial conditions that are poorly constrained. Often, direct or indirect observables from planetary missions such as elastic lithospheric thickness, crustal thickness and duration of volcanism are inverted to infer the unknown parameter values and initial conditions. The non-uniqueness and non-linearity of this inversion necessitates a probabilistic inversion framework. However, due to the expensive nature of forward dynamic simulations of thermal convection , Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods are rarely used. To address this shortcoming, some studies have recently shown the effectiveness of Mixture Density Networks (MDN) (Bishop 1995) in being able to approximate the posterior probability using only the dataset of simulations run prior to the inversion (Meier et al. 2007, de Wit et al. 2013, K&amp;#228;ufl et al. 2016, Atkins et al. 2016).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Using MDNs, we systematically isolate the degree to which a parameter can be constrained using different &amp;#8220;present-day&amp;#8221; synthetic observables from 6130 simulations for a Mars-like planet. The dataset &amp;#8211; generated using the mantle convection code GAIA (H&amp;#252;ttig et al. 2013)- is the same as that used by Agarwal et al. (2020) for a surrogate modelling study.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The loss function used to optimize the MDN (log-likelihood) provides a single robust quantity that can be used to measure how well a parameter can be constrained. We test different numbers and combinations of observables (heat flux at the surface and core-mantle boundary, radial contraction, melt produced, elastic lithospheric thickness, and duration of volcanism) to constrain the following parameters: reference viscosity, activation energy and activation volume of the diffusion creep rheology, an enrichment factor for radiogenic elements in the crust, and initial mantle temperature. If all observables are available, reference viscosity can be constrained to within 32% of its entire range (10&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8722;10&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt; Pa s), crustal enrichment factor (1&amp;#8722;50) to within 15%, activation energy (10&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8722;5&amp;#215;10&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt; J mol-1 ) to within 80%, and initial mantle temperature (1600&amp;#8722;1800K) to within 39%. The additional availability of the full present-day temperature profile or parts of it as an observable tightens the constraints further. The activation volume (4&amp;#215;10&lt;sup&gt;-6&lt;/sup&gt; &amp;#8722;10&amp;#215;10&lt;sup&gt;-6&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#160; m&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; mol&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;) cannot be constrained and requires research into new observables in space and time, as well as fields other than just temperature. Testing different levels of uncertainty (simulated using Gaussian noise) in the observables, we found that constraints on different parameters loosen at different rates, with initial temperature being the most sensitive. Finally, we present how the marginal MDN proposed by Bishop (1995) can be modified to model the joint probability for all parameters, so that&amp;#160; the inter-parameter correlations and the associated degeneracy can be capture, thereby providing a more comprehensive picture of all the evolution scenarios that fit given observational constraints.&lt;/p&gt;

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