scholarly journals Origin of the seismic belt in the San-in district, southwest Japan, inferred from the seismic velocity structure of the lower crust

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroo Tsuda ◽  
Yoshihisa Iio ◽  
Takuo Shibutani
Keyword(s):  
Lower Crust ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Seismic Belt ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Intraplate Earthquakes ◽  
Linear Distribution ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
Velocity Zone

Abstract A long linear distribution of epicenters is seen along the Japan Sea coast in the San-in district located in southwestern Japan. This linear distribution of epicenters is called the seismic belt in the San-in district. The localization of intraplate earthquakes in the San-in district, far from plate boundaries, is not well understood. To answer this question, we look at the seismic velocity structure of the lower crust beneath the San-in district using seismic travel-time tomography. Our results show the existence of a low-velocity anomaly in the lower crust beneath the seismic belt. We infer that the deformation was concentrated in the low-velocity zone due to compressive stress caused by the subduction of oceanic plates, that stress concentration occurred just above the low-velocity zone, and that the seismic belt was therefore formed there. We also calculated the cutoff depths of shallow intraplate earthquakes in the San-in district. Based on the results, we consider the possible causes of the low-velocity anomaly in the lower crust beneath the seismic belt. We found that the cutoff depths of the intraplate earthquakes were shallower in the eastern part of the low-velocity zone in the lower crust beneath the seismic belt and deeper in the western part. Thus, the eastern part is likely to be hotter than the western part. We inferred that the eastern part was hot because a hot mantle upwelling approaches the Moho discontinuity below it and the resulting high temperature may be the main cause of the low-velocity anomaly. On the other hand, in the western part, we inferred that the temperature is not high because the mantle upwelling may not exist at shallow depth, and water dehydrated from the Philippine Sea plate reaches the lower crust, and the existence of this water may be the main cause of the low-velocity anomaly.

P-wave velocity structure of the Earth's crust beneath Vancouver Island

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 742-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. McMechan ◽  
George D. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Structure ◽  
General Structure ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
P Wave Velocity ◽  
Refraction Data ◽  
Velocity Zone

Refraction data were recorded from three shot points out to a maximum distance of ~330 km as part of the 1980 Vancouver Island Seismic Project (VISP80). These vertical component data are partially reversed and so can be interpreted in terms of two-dimensional structures by iterative modeling of P-wave travel times and amplitudes. The structure of the upper crust is the best constrained part of the model. It consists, generally, of a gradually increasing velocity from ~5.3 km/s at the surface to ~6.4 km/s at 2 km depth to ~6.75 km/s at 15.5 km depth, where the velocity increases sharply to ~7 km/s. Below ~20 km depth, the model becomes speculative because the data provide only indirect constraints on velocities at these depths. An interpretation that fits the observed times and amplitudes has a low velocity zone in the lower crust and a Moho at 37 km depth. The only significant departure from this general structure is beneath the central part of Vancouver Island where the 15.5 km boundary in the model attains a depth of ~23 km, below which there appears to be a local high velocity anomaly.

A comparison of the receiver structure beneath stations of the Canadian National Seismograph Network

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 938-951 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Cassidy
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Receiver Functions ◽  
Canadian Shield ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Appalachian Orogen ◽  
Seismograph Network ◽  
Velocity Zone

Three-component broadband data from the recently deployed Canadian National Seismograph Network provide a new opportunity to examine the structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath the Canadian landmass. Receiver function analysis is an ideal method to use with this data set, as it can provide constraints on the S-velocity structure beneath each station of this seismograph network. This analysis method is particularly useful in that it provides site-specific information (i.e., within 5–15 km of the station), low-velocity layers can be identified, and it is possible to examine structure to upper mantle depths. In this study, receiver functions were computed for each of the 19 stations that made up the seismograph network in June 1994. Five stations, sampling a variety of tectonic environments, including the Appalachian Orogen, the Canadian Shield, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, and the Cascadia subduction zone, were chosen for detailed modelling. The results presented here are the first estimates of the S-velocity structure beneath these five stations. For those stations where comparisons can be made with seismic reflection and refraction results, there is excellent agreement. In eastern Canada, simple receiver functions and clear Moho Ps conversions at most stations indicate a relatively transparent crust and a Moho depth of 40–45 km. In northwestern Canada, Moho Ps phases indicate a crustal thickness of 33–38 km. Beneath Inuvik, Northwest Territories, the Moho is interpreted as two velocity steps separated in depth by 5 km, and an upper mantle low-velocity zone is near 47 km depth. In western Canada, the data indicate a mid-crustal low-velocity zone beneath Edmonton. The Moho of the subducting Juan de Fuca plate is interpreted at 52 km depth beneath southern Vancouver Island. Several stations exhibiting complex receiver functions warrant further study. They include stations at Schefferville, Quebec, in the Canadian Shield; Deer Lake, Newfoundland, on the boundary of the Grenville Province and the Appalachian Orogen; and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, at the intersection of the Churchill and Slave provinces and the Western Plains.

scholarly journals Magmatic and tectonic segmentation of the intermediate-spreading Costa Rica Rift—a fine balance between magma supply rate, faulting and hydrothermal circulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 222 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-152
Author(s):  
A H Robinson ◽  
L Zhang ◽  
R W Hobbs ◽  
C Peirce ◽  
V C H Tong
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Circulation System ◽  
Fluid Circulation ◽  
Ridge Axis ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
Magma Supply ◽  
Velocity Zone

SUMMARY 3-D tomographic modelling of wide-angle seismic data, recorded at the intermediate-spreading Costa Rica Rift, has revealed a P-wave seismic velocity anomaly low located beneath a small overlapping spreading centre that forms a non-transform discontinuity at the ridge axis. This low velocity zone displays a maximum velocity anomaly relative to the ‘background’ ridge axis crustal structure of ∼0.5 km s−1, has lateral dimensions of ∼10 × 5 km, and extends to depths ≥2.5 km below the seabed, placing it within layer 2 of the oceanic crust. We interpret these observations as representing increased fracturing under enhanced tectonic stress associated with the opening of the overlapping spreading centre, that results in higher upper crustal bulk porosity and permeability. Evidence for ongoing magmatic accretion at the Costa Rica Rift ridge axis takes the form of an axial magma lens beneath the western ridge segment, and observations of hydrothermal plume activity and microearthquakes support the presence of an active fluid circulation system. We propose that fracture pathways associated with the low velocity zone may provide the system through which hydrothermal fluids circulate. These fluids cause rapid cooling of the adjacent ridge axis and any magma accumulations which may be present. The Costa Rica Rift exists at a tipping point between episodic phases of magmatic and tectonically enhanced spreading. The characteristics inherited from each spreading mode have been preserved in the crustal morphology off-axis for the past 7 Myr. Using potential field data, we contextualize our seismic observations of the axial ridge structure at the whole segment scale, and find that the proposed balance between magmatic and tectonically dominated spreading processes observed off-axis may also be apparent along-axis, and that the current larger-scale magma supply system at the Costa Rica Rift may be relatively weak. Based on all available geophysical observations, we suggest a model for the inter-relationships between magmatism, faulting and fluid circulation at the Costa Rica Rift across a range of scales, which may also be influenced by large lithosphere scale structural and/or thermal heterogeneity.

Partial melting and the low-velocity zone

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don L. Anderson ◽  
Hartmut Spetzler
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Velocity Zone

Nature of the low velocity zone in Cascadia from receiver function waveform inversion

2012 ◽  
Vol 337-338 ◽  
pp. 25-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf T.J. Hansen ◽  
Michael G. Bostock ◽  
Nikolas I. Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Receiver Function ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Velocity Zone
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