Seismic structure of the deep Kurile Subduction Zone

Abstract

Three‐dimensional modeling of P wave travel time residuals was performed to investigate the deep slab‐related velocity structure within the Kurile subduction zone. Travel times of P waves from earthquakes at all depths within the Kurile subduction zone to World‐Wide Standard Seismograph Network and Canadian stations were measured. Instead of analyzing the travel time residuals of a single event, relative travel time residuals of P waves to common stations have been analyzed and used in this study to isolate near source contributions from the total travel time residuals. The effect of uncertainties in long wavelength heterogeneity far from the source in the lower mantle and the effect of uncertainties in the reference Earth model have been significantly reduced by analyzing relative travel time residuals. The effect of uncertainties in station corrections are eliminated by relative travel time residuals. Our measured P wave travel time data clearly indicate that high‐velocity anomalies exist in the lower mantle beneath the Kurile subduction zone but they do not appear to be caused by simple slab continuation into the lower mantle. The travel time modeling was accomplished using a fully three‐dimensional finite difference technique for wave propagation within the source region. The modeling results show that high‐velocity anomalies extend several hundred kilometers into the lower mantle but they appear to be very complicated. A large number of models consisting of simple slab continuation into the lower mantle were tested and the results show that none ofthese models was able to produce synthetics which match the observed P wave travel time data. The slab‐related velocity anomalies in the upper mantle of the Kurile subduction zone are generally consistent with the seismicity. The high‐velocity anomalies in the lower mantle below the Kurile subduction zone are broad and geometrically change from the southern to the northern Kuriles. Below the southern Kuriles, the high‐velocity anomalies appear to be subhorizontal. However, beneath the central Kuriles, there are broad, about 600‐km‐wide, high‐velocity anomalies on the continental side of the slab which extend several hundred kilometers into the lower mantle. The high‐velocity anomalies found below the northern Kuriles are broad and on both the continental and the ocean side of the slab, and extend several hundred kilometers into the lower mantle.