Full‐Wave Seismic Tomography in the Northeastern United States: New Insights Into the Uplift Mechanism of the Adirondack Mountains

Abstract

AbstractStudying the driving force of intracratonic uplifts is important in understanding the deformation mechanism of continental lithosphere and the role of mantle dynamics. The Adirondack Mountains are located at the eastern Laurentian margin in the northeastern United States forming a distinct domal uplift. Subsurface structural constraints on their uplift mechanism are limited. Here we construct a high‐resolution velocity model for the crust and mantle lithosphere using full‐wave ambient noise tomography. A distinct low shear velocity anomaly with a diameter of ~70–100 km is imaged beneath the Moho at the Adirondack Mountains. This anomaly is connected with the large‐scale low‐velocity volume beneath southern New England and eastern New York at greater depths. The observed low‐velocity anomalies may reflect asthenosphere upwelling induced by a combined effect of the Great Meteor hot spot and edge‐driven mantle convections. The buoyancy of upwelling asthenosphere, together with possible thermal expansion, may have uplifted the Adirondack Mountains.