Large-magnitude oceanic intraplate seismicity: Implications for lithosphere evolution

ABSTRACT We analyzed 37 large oceanic intraplate earthquakes (M >6). The largest (M >7) are mainly concentrated under the Indian Ocean. Moderate events (6 < M < 7) are sparsely distributed under the Indian Ocean and other oceans where lithospheric ages are between 90 Ma and 20 Ma. Oceanic intraplate events related to mantle plumes or hotspots are rare, though low-velocity anomalies beneath hotspots are a common feature. Tomographic cross sections for Indian Ocean areas with large intraplate earthquakes indicate strong heterogeneity in the mantle. These earthquakes are explained by shallow stress variations caused by a combination of tectonic forces including slab-pull, ridge-push, drag by mantle flow, plume-push, and buoyancy forces as a consequence of low-velocity anomalies in the mantle. Oceanic intraplate seismicity in the Indian Ocean is related to the large-scale, low-velocity anomaly structure around the Ninety East Ridge.

Progressive weakening within the overriding plate during dual inward dipping subduction

Dual inward dipping subduction often produces complex deformation patterns in the overriding plate. However, the geodynamic process of how dual inward dipping subduction relates to this deformation is still poorly understood. Here we apply a composite viscosity, dependent on multiple parameters, e.g., temperature, pressure, strain rate etc., in 2-D thermo-mechanical numerical modelling to investigate how dual inward dipping subduction modifies the rheological structure of the overriding plate. Three variables are investigated to understand what controls the maximum degree of weakening. We find that the initial length and thickness of the overriding plate are negatively correlated with the magnitude of viscosity reduction. While the initial thickness of the subducting plate positively relates to the magnitude of viscosity reduction. The progressive weakening can result in a variety of stretching states ranging from 1) little or no lithosphere thinning and extension, to 2) limited thermal lithosphere thinning, and 3) localised rifting followed by spreading extension. Compared with single sided subduction, dual inward dipping subduction further reduces the magnitude of viscosity of the overriding plate. It does this by creating a dynamic fixed boundary condition for the overriding plate and forming a stronger upwelling mantle flow underlying the overriding plate. Three types of feedback weakening cycles are recognised, among which the strain rate weakening mechanism plays the dominant role in lowering the viscosity of the overriding plate throughout the simulation. Strain rate weakening is also a precondition for initiating thermal weakening, strain localisation and lithosphere thinning.

Regional mantle viscosity constraints for North America reveal upper mantle strength differences across the continent

We present regional constraints of mantle viscosity for North America using a local Bayesian joint inversion of mantle flow and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models. Our localized mantle flow model uses new local geoid kernels created via spatio-spectral localization using Slepain basis functions, convolved with seismically derived mantle density to calculate and constrain against the regional free-air gravity field. The joint inversion with GIA uses two deglaciation of ice sheet models (GLAC1D-NA and ICE-6G-NA) and surface relative sea level data. We solve for the local 1D mantle viscosity structure for the entire North America (NA) region, the eastern region including Hudson Bay, and the western region of North America extending into the Pacific plate. Our results for the entire NA region show one order of magnitude viscosity jump at the 670 km boundary using a high seismic density scaling parameter (e.g., δlnp/δlnvs = 0.3). Seismic scaling parameter demonstrates significant influence on the resulting viscosity profile. However, when the NA region is further localized into eastern and western parts, the scaling factor becomes much less important for dictating the resulting upper mantle viscosity characteristics. Rather the respective local mantle density heterogeneities provide the dominate control on the upper mantle viscosity. We infer local 1D viscosity profiles that reflect the respective tectonic settings of each region's upper mantle, including a weak and shallow asthenosphere layer in the west, and deep sharp viscosity jumps in the eastern transition zone, below the suggested/proposed depth range of the eastern continental root.

Seismic Tomography of Kamchatkan Volcanoes

—The Kamchatka Peninsula is one of the most tectonically active regions in the world, where intensive and diverse modern volcanic activity takes place. In the recent decade, substantial progress in the investigation of deep structures beneath Kamchatka has been achieved owing to numerous tomography studies based on seismological data provided by permanent stations and temporary networks deployed in some key areas. The goal of this review is summarizing and systematizing dozens of separate multiscale geophysical studies in Kamchatka and constructing an integral model of volcano-feeding systems. An important part of this review contains the description of results of various seismic studies related to the Klyuchevskoy group volcanoes, which can now be considered one of the best studied volcanic areas in the world. The results of the regional-scale seismic tomography reveal the existence of the Pacific slab window, which determines the particular activity of the Klyuchevskoy group volcanoes. Middle-scale tomography studies have found traces of an ascending hot mantle flow that passes through the slab window, reaches the bottom of the crust below Shiveluch Volcano, and then propagates laterally toward the Klyuchevskoy group. Seismic models of the entire crust in the area of the Klyuchevskoy group were used to identify different mechanisms of magmatic feeding of three most active volcanoes: Klyuchevskoy, Bezymianny, and Tolbachik. The data of local networks deployed on several volcanoes of Kamchatka were used to image the magma sources in the upper crust, which are directly responsible for the current eruption activity. The comparison of the results for the Kamchatka volcanoes with tomography models of several other volcanoes of the world allowed determining some common features and differences in feeding active magmatic systems.

Landscape responses to dynamic topography and climate change on the South African source-to-sink system since the Oligocene

The South African landscape displays important lithological and topographical heterogeneities between the eastern, western margins and the plateau. Yet the underlying mechanisms and timings responsible for this peculiar layout remain unclear. While studies have proposed a post-Gondwana uplift driver, others have related these heterogeneities to a more recent evolution induced by deep mantle flow dynamics during the last 30 million years. This theory seems supported by the rapid increase of sediment flux in the Orange basin since the Oligocene. However, the triggers and responses of the South African landscape to dynamic topography are still debated. Here we use a series of numerical simulations forced with Earth data to evaluate the contribution of dynamic topography and precipitation on the Orange river source-to-sink system since the Oligocene. We show that, if the tested uplift histories influence deposits distribution and thicknesses in the Orange sedimentary basin, they poorly affect the large-scale drainage system organisation and only strongly impact the erosion across the catchment for two of the four tested dynamic topography cases. Conversely, it appears that paleo-rainfall regimes are the major forcing mechanism that drives the recent increase of sediment flux in the Orange basin. From our simulations, we find that climate strongly smoothed the dynamic topography signal in the South African landscape and that none of the currently proposed dynamic topography scenarios produce an uplift high enough to drive the pulse of erosion and associated sedimentation observed during the Palaeocene. These findings support the hypothesis of a pre-Oligocene uplift. Our results are crucial to improve our understanding of the recent evolution of the South African landscape.

The evolution of basal mantle structure in response to supercontinent aggregation and dispersal

Seismic studies have revealed two Large Low-Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) in the lowermost mantle. Whether these structures remain stable over time or evolve through supercontinent cycles is debated. Here we analyze a recently published mantle flow model constrained by a synthetic plate motion model extending back to one billion years ago, to investigate how the mantle evolves in response to changing plate configurations. Our model predicts that sinking slabs segment the basal thermochemical structure below an assembling supercontinent, and that this structure eventually becomes unified due to slab push from circum-supercontinental subduction. In contrast, the basal thermochemical structure below the superocean is generally coherent due to the persistence of a superocean in our imposed plate reconstruction. The two antipodal basal thermochemical structures exchange material several times when part of one of the structures is carved out and merged with the other one, similarly to “exotic” tectonic terranes. Plumes mostly rise from thick basal thermochemical structures and in some instances migrate from the edges towards the interior of basal thermochemical structures due to slab push. Our results suggest that the topography of basal structures and distribution of plumes change over time due to the changing subduction network over supercontinent cycles.

High 3He/4He in central Panama reveals a distal connection to the Galápagos plume

It is well established that mantle plumes are the main conduits for upwelling geochemically enriched material from Earth's deep interior. The fashion and extent to which lateral flow processes at shallow depths may disperse enriched mantle material far (>1,000 km) from vertical plume conduits, however, remain poorly constrained. Here, we report He and C isotope data from 65 hydrothermal fluids from the southern Central America Margin (CAM) which reveal strikingly high 3He/4He (up to 8.9RA) in low-temperature (≤50 °C) geothermal springs of central Panama that are not associated with active volcanism. Following radiogenic correction, these data imply a mantle source 3He/4He >10.3RA (and potentially up to 26RA, similar to Galápagos hotspot lavas) markedly greater than the upper mantle range (8 ± 1RA). Lava geochemistry (Pb isotopes, Nb/U, and Ce/Pb) and geophysical constraints show that high 3He/4He values in central Panama are likely derived from the infiltration of a Galápagos plume–like mantle through a slab window that opened ∼8 Mya. Two potential transport mechanisms can explain the connection between the Galápagos plume and the slab window: 1) sublithospheric transport of Galápagos plume material channeled by lithosphere thinning along the Panama Fracture Zone or 2) active upwelling of Galápagos plume material blown by a “mantle wind” toward the CAM. We present a model of global mantle flow that supports the second mechanism, whereby most of the eastward transport of Galápagos plume material occurs in the shallow asthenosphere. These findings underscore the potential for lateral mantle flow to transport mantle geochemical heterogeneities thousands of kilometers away from plume conduits.