Anisotropy in the lowermost mantle beneath the Indian Ocean Geoid Low from ScS splitting measurements

Abstract

AbstractThe Indian Ocean Geoid Low (IOGL) to the south of Indian subcontinent is the world's largest geoid anomaly. In this study, we investigate the seismic anisotropy of the lowermost mantle beneath the IOGL by analyzing splitting of high‐quality ScS phases corrected for source and receiver side upper mantle anisotropy. Results reveal significant anisotropy ( ) in the layer. The observed fast axis polarization azimuths in the ray coordinate system indicate a TTI (transverse isotropy with a tilted axis of symmetry) style of anisotropy. Lattice Preferred Orientation (LPO) deformation of the palaeo‐subducted slabs experiencing high shear strain is a plausible explanation for the observed anisotropy beneath the IOGL.