Imaging the lithospheric structure and plumbing system below the Mayotte volcanic zone

Abstract

Teleseismic receiver-functions and Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves are jointly inverted for quantifying S-wave velocity profiles beneath the active volcanic zone off Mayotte. We show that the lithosphere in the east-northeast quadrant is composed of four main layers, interpreted as the volcanic edifice, the crust with underplating, the lithospheric mantle, and the asthenosphere, the latter two presenting a main low-velocity zone. The depths of the old (10–11 km) and new Moho (28–31 km) coincide with the two magma reservoirs evidenced by recent seismological and petrological methods. We propose that the main magma reservoir composed of mush with an increasing amount of liquid extends down to 54 km depth. This magma storage develops from a rheological contrast between the ductile lower and brittle upper lithospheric mantle and accounts for most of the volcanic eruption-related seismicity. Finally, the abnormally small thickness of the lithospheric mantle (33 km) is likely a result of a thermal thinning since the onset of Cenozoic magmatism.