Crustal structure of central and northern Iceland from analysis of teleseismic receiver functions

Abstract

We present results from a teleseismic receiver function study of central and northern Iceland, carried out during the period 1995–1998. Data from eight broad-band seismometers installed in the SIL network operated by the Icelandic Meteorological Office were used for analysis. Receiver functions for each station were generated from events for a wide range of backazimuths and a combination of inversion and forward modelling was used to infer the crustal structure below each station. The models generated show a considerable variation in the nature and thickness of the crust across Iceland. The thinnest crust (20–21 km) is found in the northern half of the Northern Volcanic Zone approximately 120 km north of the centre of the Iceland mantle plume. Thicker crust (24–30 km) is found elsewhere in northern and central Iceland and the thickest crust (37 km) is found close to the plume centre. Velocity–depth profiles show a distinct division of the crust into two main sections, an upper high-velocity-gradient section of thickness 2–8 km and a lower crustal section with small or zero overall velocity gradient. The thickness of the upper crust correlates with the tectonic structure of Iceland; the upper crust is thickest on the flanks of the northern and central volcanic rift zones and thinnest close to active or extinct central volcanoes. Below the Krafla central volcano in northeastern Iceland the receiver function models show a prominent low-velocity zone at 10–15 km depth with minimum shear wave velocities of 2.0–2.5 km s−1. We suggest that this feature results from the presence of partially molten sills in the lower crust. Less prominent low-velocity zones found in other regions of Iceland may arise from locally high temperatures in the crust or from acidic intrusive bodies at depth. A combination of the receiver function results and seismic refraction results constrains the crustal thickness across a large part of Iceland. Melting by passive decompression of the hot mantle below the rift zone in northern Iceland forms a crust of thickness ∼20 km. In contrast, the larger crustal thickness below central Iceland probably arises from enhanced melt production due to active upwelling in the plume core.