scholarly journals High mantle seismic P-wave speeds as a signature for gravitational spreading of superplumes

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (22) ◽  
pp. eaba7118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Stern ◽  
Simon Lamb ◽  
James D. P. Moore ◽  
David Okaya ◽  
Katharina Hochmuth
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Thermal Effects ◽  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Wave Speeds ◽  
Horizontal Length ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Radial Anisotropy

New passive- and active-source seismic experiments reveal unusually high mantle P-wave speeds that extend beneath the remnants of the world’s largest known large igneous province, making up the 120-million-year-old Ontong-Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi Plateau. Sub-Moho Pn phases of ~8.8 ± 0.2 km/s are resolved with negligible azimuthal seismic anisotropy, but with strong radial anisotropy (~10%), characteristic of aggregates of olivine with an AG crystallographic fabric. These seismic results are the first in situ evidence for this fabric in the upper mantle. We show that its presence can be explained by isotropic horizontal dilation and vertical flattening due to late-stage gravitational collapse and spreading in the top 10 to 20 km of a depleted, mushroom-shaped, superplume head on a horizontal length scale of 1000 km or more. This way, it provides a seismic tool to track plumes long after the thermal effects have ceased.

scholarly journals A multicomponent Isabella anomaly: Resolving the physical state of the Sierra Nevada upper mantle from Vp/Vs anisotropy tomography

Geosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 2018-2042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa V. Bernardino ◽  
Craig H. Jones ◽  
William Levandowski ◽  
Ian Bastow ◽  
Thomas J. Owens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Wave Speeds ◽  
High Wave ◽  
The Core ◽  
High Speeds ◽  
Great Valley ◽  
Isabella Anomaly

Abstract The Isabella anomaly, a prominent upper-mantle high-speed P-wave anomaly located within the southern Great Valley and southwestern foothills of the Sierra Nevada, has been interpreted either as foundering sub-Sierran lithosphere or as remnant oceanic lithosphere. We used Vp/Vs anisotropy tomography to distinguish among the probable origins of the Isabella anomaly. S waveforms were rotated into the Sierran SKSFast and SKSSlow directions determined from SKS-splitting studies. Teleseismic P-, SFast-, SSlow-, SKSFast-, and SKSSlow-wave arrival times were then inverted to obtain three-dimensional (3-D) perturbations in Vp, Vp/VsMean, and percent azimuthal anisotropy using three surface wave 3-D starting models and one one-dimensional (1-D) model. We observed the highest Vp/Vs anomalies associated with slower velocities in regions marked by young volcanism, with the largest of these anomalies being the Mono anomaly under the Long Valley region, which extends to depths of at least 75 km. Peak Vp/Vs perturbations of +4% were found at 40 km depth. The low velocities and high Vp/Vs values of this anomaly could be related to partial melt. The high wave speeds of the Isabella anomaly coincide with low Vp/Vs values with peak perturbations of −2%, yet they do not covary spatially. The P-wave inversion imaged the Isabella anomaly as a unimodal eastward-plunging body. However, the volume of that Isabella anomaly contains three separate bodies as defined by varying Vp/Vs values. High speeds, regionally average Vp/Vs values (higher than the other two anomalies), and lower anisotropy characterize the core of the Isabella anomaly. The western and shallowest part has high wave speeds and lower Vp/Vs values than the surrounding mantle. The eastern and deepest part of the anomaly also contains high speeds and lower Vp/Vs values but exhibits higher anisotropy. We considered combinations of varying temperature, Mg content (melt depletion), or modal garnet to reproduce our observations. Our results suggest that the displaced garnet-rich mafic root of the Mesozoic Sierra Nevada batholith is found in the core of the Isabella anomaly. If remnant oceanic lithosphere exists within the Isabella anomaly, it most likely resides in the shallow, westernmost feature. Within the Sierra Nevada, the highest upper-mantle anisotropy is largely contained within the central portion of the range and the adjacent Great Valley. Anisotropy along the Sierra crest is shallow and confined to the lithosphere between 20 and 40 km depth. Directly below, there is a zone of low anisotropy (from 170 to 220 km depth), low velocities, and high Vp/Vs values. These features suggest the presence of vertically upwelling asthenosphere and consequent horizontal flow at shallower depths. High anisotropy beneath the adjacent western foothills and Great Valley is found at ∼120 km depth and could represent localized mantle deformation produced as asthenosphere filled in a slab gap.

Formation of the North–South Seismic Zone and Emeishan Large Igneous Province in Central China: Insights from P-Wave Teleseismic Tomography

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 3064-3076
Author(s):  
Chuansong He ◽  
M. Santosh
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Seismic Zone ◽  
Teleseismic Tomography ◽  
Emeishan Large Igneous Province ◽  
The North ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Stress Accumulation

ABSTRACT The geodynamic features of the north–south seismic zone (NSSZ) and the formation of the Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) in China remain controversial. In this study, we conducted detailed P-wave teleseismic tomography studies in the NSSZ and adjacent regions. The results revealed large high-velocity anomalies beneath the Songpan–Ganzi Block and the South China Block, possibly representing large-scale lithospheric delamination. We further identified low-velocity structures at 50–200 km depths in the western and southern parts of the NSSZ, suggesting an upwelling asthenosphere induced by delamination and the absence of a rigid lithosphere. Two high-velocity structures beneath the Sichuan basin and the Alashan block were also revealed, which may represent the lithospheric roots of these structures. These rigid lithospheric roots may have obstructed the eastward extrusion of the Tibetan plateau and led to stress accumulation and release (triggering earthquakes) in the Longmenshan Orogenic Belt and the northern part of the NSSZ. Because of this obstruction, the eastward extrusion was redirected southeastward to Yunnan in the southern part of the NSSZ, which led to stress accumulation and release causing earthquakes along the Honghe and Xiaojiang faults. The results from this study reveal a high-velocity structure with a subducted slab-like appearance that may represent vestiges of the Paleo-Tethys oceanic lithosphere, which subducted beneath the ELIP and initiating large-scale mantle return flow or mantle upwelling, contributing to the formation of the ELIP.

Caribbean slab dynamics beneath northwest South America from SKS and Local S splitting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Cornthwaite ◽  
Fenglin Niu ◽  
Alan Levander ◽  
Michael Schmitz ◽  
Germán Prieto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Mantle Dynamics ◽  
Fast Axis ◽  
Shallow Subduction ◽  
Wave Tomography ◽  
Plate Coupling ◽  
Fast Polarization

<p>     The southernmost edge of the Caribbean (CAR) plate, a buoyant large igneous province, subducts shallowly beneath northwestern South America (NWSA) at a trench that lies northwest of Colombia. Recent finite frequency P-wave tomography results show a segmented CAR subducting at a shallow angle under the Santa Marta Massif to the Serrania de Perijá (SdP) before steepening while a detached segment beneath the Mérida Andes (MA) descends into the mantle transition zone. The dynamics of shallow subduction are poorly understood. Plate coupling between the flat subducting CAR and the overriding NWSA is proposed to have driven the uplift of the MA. In this study we analyze SKS shear wave splitting to investigate the seismic anisotropy beneath the slab segments to relate their geometry to mantle dynamics. We also use local S splitting to investigate the seismic anisotropy between the slab segments and the overriding plate. The data were recorded by a 65-element portable broadband seismograph network deployed in NWSA and 40 broadband stations of the Venezuelan and Colombian national seismograph networks.</p><p>     SKS fast polarization axes are measured generally trench-perpendicular (TP) west of the SdP but transition to trench-parallel (TL) at the SdP where the slab was imaged steepening into the mantle, consistent with previous studies. West of the MA the fast axis is again TP but transitions to TL under the MA. This second transition from TP to TL is likely due to mantle material being deflected around a detached slab under the MA. Local S fast polarization axes are dominantly TP throughout the study area west of the Santa Marta Massif and are consistent with slab-entrained flow. Under the Santa Marta Massif the fast axis is TL for reasons we do not yet understand.</p>

Can Teleseismic Travel-Times Constrain 3D Anisotropic Structure in Subduction Zones? Insights from Realistic Synthetic Experiments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon VanderBeek ◽  
Manuele Faccenda
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
Joint Inversion ◽  
Azimuthal Anisotropy ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Elastic Model ◽  
Anisotropic Structure ◽  
Travel Times ◽  
Delay Times

<p>Despite the well-established anisotropic nature of Earth’s upper mantle, the influence of elastic anisotropy on teleseismic tomographic images remains largely ignored. In subduction zones, unmodeled anisotropic heterogeneity can lead to substantial isotropic velocity artefacts that may be misinterpreted as compositional heterogeneities (e.g. Bezada et al., 2016). Recent studies have demonstrated the possibility of inverting P-wave delay times for the strength and orientation of seismic anisotropy assuming a hexagonal symmetry system (e.g. Huang et al., 2015; Munzarová et al., 2018). However, the ability of P-wave delay times to constrain complex anisotropic patterns, such as those expected in subduction settings, remains unclear as the aforementioned methods are tested using ideal self-consistent data (i.e. data produced using the assumptions built into the tomography algorithm) generated from simplified synthetic models. Here, we test anisotropic P-wave imaging methods on data generated from geodynamic simulations of subduction. Micromechanical models of polymineralic aggregates advected through the simulated flow field are used to create an elastic model with up to 21 independent coefficients. We then model the teleseismic wavefield through this fully anisotropic model using SPECFEM3D coupled with AxiSEM. P-wave delay times across a synthetic seismic array are measured using conventional cross-correlation techniques and inverted for isotropic velocity and the strength and orientation of anisotropy using travel-time tomography methods. We propose and validate approximate analytic finite-frequency sensitivity kernels for the simplified anisotropic parameters. Our results demonstrate that P-wave delays can reliably recover horizontal and vertical changes in the azimuth of anisotropy. However, substantial isotropic artefacts remain in the solution when only inverting for azimuthal anisotropy parameters. These isotropic artefacts are largely removed when inverting for the dip as well as the azimuth of the anisotropic symmetry axis. Due to the relative nature of P-wave delay times, these data generally fail to reconstruct anisotropic structure that is spatially uniform over large scales. To overcome this limitation, we propose a joint inversion of SKS splitting intensity with P-wave delay times. Preliminary results demonstrate that this approach improves the recovery of the magnitude and azimuth of anisotropy. We conclude that teleseismic P-wave travel-times are a useful observable for probing the 3D distribution of upper mantle anisotropy and that anisotropic inversions should be explored to better understand the nature of isotropic velocity anomalies in subduction settings.</p>

Radially and azimuthally anisotropic shear-wave velocity model of the Earth’s upper mantle

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Lavoué ◽  
Sergei Lebedev ◽  
Nicolas Celli ◽  
Andrew Schaeffer
Keyword(s):  
Shear Wave ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Shear Wave Velocity ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Horizontal Shear ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
Slip Mechanism ◽  
Radial Anisotropy

<p>We present new models of shear-wave velocity and of its radial and azimuthal anisotropy in the crust and upper mantle at global scale. Seismic anisotropy is the consequence of the preferential orientation of minerals due to deformation. The reconstruction of both its radial and azimuthal components provides insights into past and present deformation and flow in the lithosphere and asthenosphere. The full consideration of anisotropy also makes possible to accurately determine the isotropic shear-velocity average, and therefore to isolate the effects of thermal or compositional variations from those of anisotropic fabric. </p><p>Our model is constrained by a large compilation of waveform fits for more than 750,000 vertical-component and 250,000 transverse-component seismograms. We follow a two-step procedure that comprises the Automated Multimode Inversion of surface, S, and multiple-S waveforms in a period range from 10 to 450 s, followed by a 3D tomographic inversion that reconstructs <em>dV<sub>SH</sub></em> and <em>dV<sub>SV</sub></em> velocity perturbations and their 4-ψ and 2-ψ azimuthal dependencies. The joint inversion of vertical and transverse components is regularised in terms of linear isotropic average perturbations <em>dV<sub>S0</sub> = (dV<sub>SH</sub></em> + <em>dV<sub>SV</sub></em>)/2 and of radial anisotropy δ <em>= dV<sub>SH</sub></em> - <em>dV<sub>SV</sub></em>.</p><p>We compare our model with other published anisotropic models. The different models show good agreement on major isotropic structures but relatively poor agreement on anisotropic features. We identify different patterns of anisotropy for different tectonic regions. At shallow depths (< 60 km), there is a clear difference between oceanic and continental regions of different ages. While radial anisotropy is consistently negative (<em>V<sub>SH</sub></em> < <em>V<sub>SV</sub></em>) in the top 50 km of oceanic lithosphere, it is positive (<em>V<sub>SH</sub></em> > <em>V<sub>SH</sub></em>) under continents, with a thick layer of slightly positive anisotropy under cratons and a shallower layer of stronger anisotropy under phanerozoic crust, subject to more recent deformation. The largest anisotropy —positive and exceeding 2% in our and most other models— occurs between 70 and 150 km depth. This pattern is observed in both continents and oceans, and depends on their age and lithospheric thickness, which is indicative of the anisotropic fabric developed in the asthenosphere and frozen in the lithosphere. Finally, we observe a remarkable reversal from positive to negative anisotropy between 200 and 330 km depth over the entire globe. Again, the depth at which this reversal occurs depends on the tectonic settings: it is deeper under cratons and old oceans than under young continents and oceans. Synthetic tests demonstrate the robustness of this observation. While it could be interpreted as a transition from dominantly horizontal to dominantly vertical deformation in the mantle, this anisotropy reversal is also consistent with mineralogic experiments that suggest a transition in olivine slip mechanism which causes horizontal shear to induce negative seismic anisotropy below a certain depth. In lack of a satisfying scenario that could explain a global trend to vertical mantle flow between 260 and 410 km depth, we favour the second interpretation. If this interpretation is correct, our anisotropic model provides global-scale evidence for the transition in the olivine slip mechanism documented in the mineralogic literature.</p>

Geochemical and O-C-Sr-Nd Isotopic Constraints on the Petrogenetic Link between Aillikites and Carbonatites in the Tarim Large Igneous Province

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changhong Wang ◽  
Zhaochong Zhang ◽  
Andrea Giuliani ◽  
Zhiguo Cheng ◽  
Bingxiang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Element ◽  
Oxygen Isotope ◽  
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Nd Isotope ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Secondary Ion ◽  
Tarim Large Igneous Province

Abstract Aillikites are carbonate-rich ultramafic lamprophyres often associated with carbonatites. Despite their common field relationships, the petrogenetic links, if any, between aillikites and carbonatites remain controversial. To address this question, this study reports the results of a detailed geochemical and isotopic examination of the Permian Wajilitag aillikites in the northwestern Tarim large igneous province, including bulk-rock major-, trace-element and Sr-Nd isotope compositions, olivine major- and trace-element and (in-situ secondary ion mass spectrometry) oxygen isotope compositions, oxygen isotope data for clinopyroxene separates, and bulk-carbonate C-O isotopic analyses. Olivine in the aillikites occurs in two textural types: (i) microcrysts, 0.3-5 mm; and (ii) macrocrysts, 0.5-2.5 cm. The microcrysts exhibit well-defined linear correlations between Fo (79-89), minor and trace elements (e.g., Ni = 1304-3764 μg/g and Mn = 1363-3042 μg/g). In contrast, the olivine macrocrysts show low Fo79-81, Ni (5.3-442 μg/g) and Ca (477-1018 μg/g) and very high Mn (3418-5123 μg/g) contents, and are displaced from the compositional trend of the microcrysts. The microcrysts are phenocrysts crystallized from the host aillikite magmas. Conversely, the lack of mantle-derived xenoliths in these aillikites suggests that the macrocrysts probably represent cognate crystals (i.e., antecrysts) that formed from earlier, evolved aillikite melts. Olivine phenocrysts in the more primitive aillikite dykes (Dyke 1) have relatively higher Fo82-89 and mantle-like oxygen isotope values, whereas those in the more evolved dykes (Dyke 2 and 3) exhibit lower Fo79-86 and oxygen isotope values that trend toward lower than mantle δ18O values. The decreasing δ13C values of carbonate from Dyke 1 through to Dyke 2 and 3, coupled with the indistinguishable Sr-Nd isotopes of these dykes, suggest that the low δ18O values of olivine phenocrysts in Dyke 2 and 3 resulted from carbonate melt/fluid exsolution from a common progenitor melt. These lines of evidence combined with the overlapping emplacement ages and Sr-Nd isotope compositions of the aillikites and carbonatites in this area suggest that these exsolved carbonate melts probably contributed to the formation of the Tarim carbonatites thus supporting a close petrogenetic relationship between aillikites and carbonatites.

scholarly journals Imaging upper mantle anisotropy with teleseismic P-wave delays: insights from tomographic reconstructions of subduction simulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 225 (3) ◽  
pp. 2097-2119
Author(s):  
Brandon P VanderBeek ◽  
Manuele Faccenda
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
Azimuthal Anisotropy ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Zone Model ◽  
Upper Mantle Anisotropy ◽  
Delay Times ◽  
Mantle Anisotropy

SUMMARY Despite the well-established anisotropic nature of Earth’s upper mantle, the influence of elastic anisotropy on teleseismic P-wave imaging remains largely ignored. Unmodelled anisotropic heterogeneity can lead to substantial isotropic velocity artefacts that may be misinterpreted as compositional heterogeneities. Recent studies have demonstrated the possibility of inverting P-wave delay times for the strength and orientation of seismic anisotropy. However, the ability of P-wave delay times to constrain complex anisotropic patterns, such as those expected in subduction settings, remains unclear as synthetic testing has been restricted to the recovery of simplified block-like structures using ideal self-consistent data (i.e. data produced using the assumptions built into the tomography algorithm). Here, we present a modified parametrization for imaging arbitrarily oriented hexagonal anisotropy and test the method by reconstructing geodynamic simulations of subduction. Our inversion approach allows for isotropic starting models and includes approximate analytic finite-frequency sensitivity kernels for the simplified anisotropic parameters. Synthetic seismic data are created by propagating teleseismic waves through an elastically anisotropic subduction zone model created via petrologic-thermomechanical modelling. Delay times across a synthetic seismic array are measured using conventional cross-correlation techniques. We find that our imaging algorithm is capable of resolving large-scale features in subduction zone anisotropic structure (e.g. toroidal flow pattern and dipping fabrics associated with the descending slab). Allowing for arbitrarily oriented anisotropy also results in a more accurate reconstruction of isotropic slab structure. In comparison, models created assuming isotropy or only azimuthal anisotropy contain significant isotropic and anisotropic imaging artefacts that may lead to spurious interpretations. We conclude that teleseismic P-wave traveltimes are a useful observable for probing the 3-D distribution of upper mantle anisotropy and that anisotropic inversions should be explored to better understand the nature of isotropic velocity anomalies particularly in subduction settings.

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