The upper mantle under Central Europe: indications for the Eifel plume

Abstract

The topographies of the upper mantle discontinuities at 410 and 660 km depth under Central Europe have been mapped. Using a modified receiver function approach, we processed data recorded at selected Central European broad-band stations during the years 1981–1998. Below the Rhenish massif near the Eifel region we identified a significantly deepened 410 discontinuity that may have its origin in an upgoing mantle plume, in agreement with recently derived results from seismic tomography. We have furthermore found evidence for a northward-dipping structure at the lower boundary of the mantle transition zone below the Alps, possibly related to the subduction that occurred during the closing of the Tethys.