Active Source Seismic Experiment Research Articles

Solidified magma reservoir derived from active source seismic experiments in the Aira caldera, southern Kyushu, Japan

The Aira caldera, located in southern Kyushu, Japan, originally formed 100 ka, and its current shape reflects the more recent 30 ka caldera-forming eruptions (hereafter, called the AT eruptions). This study aimed to delineate the detailed two-dimensional (2D) seismic velocity structure of the Aira caldera down to approximately 15 km, by means of the travel-time tomography analysis of the seismic profile across the caldera acquired in 2017 and 2018. A substantial structural difference in thickness in the subsurface low-velocity areas in the Aira caldera between the eastern and western sides, suggest that the Aira caldera comprises at least two calderas, identified as the AT and Wakamiko calderas. The most interesting feature of the caldera structure is the existence of a substantial high-velocity zone (HVZ) with a velocity of more than 6.8 km/s at depths of about 6–11 km beneath the central area of the AT caldera. Because no high ratio of P- to S-wave velocity zones in the depth range were detected from the previous three-dimensional velocity model beneath the AT caldera region, we infer that the HVZ is not an active magma reservoir but comprises a solidified and cool remnant. In addition, a poorly resolved low-velocity zone around 15 km in depth suggests the existence of a deep active magma reservoir. By superimposing the distribution of the known pressure sources derived from the observed ground inflation and the volcanic earthquake distribution onto the 2D velocity model, the magma transportation path in the crust was imaged. This image suggested that the HVZ plays an important role in magma transportation in the upper crust. Moreover, we estimated that the AT magma reservoir in the 30 ka Aira caldera-forming eruptions has the total volume of 490 km3 DRE and is distributed in a depth range of 4–11 km.Graphical

Sea ice thickness from air-coupled flexural waves

Abstract. Air-coupled flexural waves (ACFWs) appear as wave trains of constant frequency that arrive in advance of the direct air wave from an impulsive source travelling over a floating ice sheet. The frequency of these waves varies with the flexural stiffness of the ice sheet, which is controlled by a combination of thickness and elastic properties. We develop a theoretical framework to understand these waves, utilizing modern numerical and Fourier methods to give a simpler and more accessible description than the pioneering yet unwieldy analytical efforts of the 1950s. Our favoured dynamical model can be understood in terms of linear filter theory and is closely related to models used to describe the flexural waves produced by moving vehicles on floating plates. We find that air-coupled flexural waves are a real and measurable component of the total wave field of floating ice sheets excited by impulsive sources, and we present a simple closed-form estimator for the ice thickness based on observable properties of the air-coupled flexural waves. Our study is focused on first-year sea ice of ∼ 20–80 cm thickness in Van Mijenfjorden, Svalbard, that was investigated through active source seismic experiments over four field campaigns in 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The air-coupled flexural wave for the sea ice system considered in this study occurs at a constant frequency thickness product of ∼ 48 Hz m. Our field data include ice ranging from ∼ 20–80 cm thickness with corresponding air-coupled flexural frequencies from 240 Hz for the thinnest ice to 60 Hz for the thickest ice. While air-coupled flexural waves for thick sea ice have received little attention, the readily audible, higher frequencies associated with thin ice on freshwater lakes and rivers are well known to the ice-skating community and have been reported in popular media. The results of this study and further examples from lake ice suggest the possibility of non-contact estimation of ice thickness using simple, inexpensive microphones located above the ice sheet or along the shoreline. While we have demonstrated the use of air-coupled flexural waves for ice thickness monitoring using an active source acquisition scheme, naturally forming cracks in the ice are also shown as a potential impulsive source that could allow passive recording of air-coupled flexural waves.

Seismic Structure, Gravity Anomalies and Flexure Along the Emperor Seamount Chain

AbstractThe Hawaiian‐Emperor seamount chain in the Pacific Ocean has provided fundamental insights into hotspot generated intraplate volcanism and the long‐term strength of oceanic lithosphere. However, only a few seismic experiments to determine crustal and upper mantle structure have been carried out on the Hawaiian Ridge, and no deep imaging has ever been carried out along the Emperor seamounts. Here, we present the results of an active source seismic experiment using 29 Ocean‐Bottom Seismometers (OBS) carried out along a strike profile of the seamounts in the region of Jimmu and Suiko guyots. Joint reflection and refraction tomographic inversion of the OBS data show the upper crust is highly heterogeneous withPwave velocities <4–5 km s−1, which are attributed to extrusive lavas and clastics. In contrast, the lower crust is remarkably homogeneous with velocities of 6.5–7.2 km s−1, which we attribute to oceanic crust and mafic intrusions. Moho is identified by a strongPmParrival at offsets of 20–80 km, yielding depths of 13–16 km. The underlying mantle is generally homogeneous with velocities in the range 7.9–8.0 km s−1. The crust and mantle velocity structure has been verified by gravity modeling. While top of oceanic crust prior to volcano loading is not recognized as a seismic or gravity discontinuity, flexural modeling reveals a ∼5.0–5.5 km thick preexisting oceanic crust that is overlain by a ∼8 km thick volcanic edifice. Unlike at the Hawaiian Ridge, we find no evidence of magmatic underplating.

The Alaska Amphibious Community Seismic Experiment

AbstractThe Alaska Amphibious Community Seismic Experiment (AACSE) is a shoreline-crossing passive- and active-source seismic experiment that took place from May 2018 through August 2019 along an ∼700 km long section of the Aleutian subduction zone spanning Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula. The experiment featured 105 broadband seismometers; 30 were deployed onshore, and 75 were deployed offshore in Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) packages. Additional strong-motion instruments were also deployed at six onshore seismic sites. Offshore OBS stretched from the outer rise across the trench to the shelf. OBSs in shallow water (<262 m depth) were deployed with a trawl-resistant shield, and deeper OBSs were unshielded. Additionally, a number of OBS-mounted strong-motion instruments, differential and absolute pressure gauges, hydrophones, and temperature and salinity sensors were deployed. OBSs were deployed on two cruises of the R/V Sikuliaq in May and July 2018 and retrieved on two cruises aboard the R/V Sikuliaq and R/V Langseth in August–September 2019. A complementary 398-instrument nodal seismometer array was deployed on Kodiak Island for four weeks in May–June 2019, and an active-source seismic survey on the R/V Langseth was arranged in June 2019 to shoot into the AACSE broadband network and the nodes. Additional underway data from cruises include seafloor bathymetry and sub-bottom profiles, with extra data collected near the rupture zone of the 2018 Mw 7.9 offshore-Kodiak earthquake. The AACSE network was deployed simultaneously with the EarthScope Transportable Array (TA) in Alaska, effectively densifying and extending the TA offshore in the region of the Alaska Peninsula. AACSE is a community experiment, and all data were made available publicly as soon as feasible in appropriate repositories.

High mantle seismic P-wave speeds as a signature for gravitational spreading of superplumes.

New passive- and active-source seismic experiments reveal unusually high mantle P-wave speeds that extend beneath the remnants of the world's largest known large igneous province, making up the 120-million-year-old Ontong-Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi Plateau. Sub-Moho Pn phases of ~8.8 ± 0.2 km/s are resolved with negligible azimuthal seismic anisotropy, but with strong radial anisotropy (~10%), characteristic of aggregates of olivine with an AG crystallographic fabric. These seismic results are the first in situ evidence for this fabric in the upper mantle. We show that its presence can be explained by isotropic horizontal dilation and vertical flattening due to late-stage gravitational collapse and spreading in the top 10 to 20 km of a depleted, mushroom-shaped, superplume head on a horizontal length scale of 1000 km or more. This way, it provides a seismic tool to track plumes long after the thermal effects have ceased.

2D spatial distribution of reflection intensity on the upper surface of the Philippine Sea plate off the Boso Peninsula, Japan

The region off the Boso Peninsula, Japan, is a tectonically complex area where the Pacific plate is subducting beneath both the landward plate and the Philippine Sea plate (PHS) from the Japan trench and the Izu-Bonin trench as the PHS is subducting under the landward plate from the Sagami trough. It is important to better determine the structure of this region to deepen our understanding of its seismicity. Previous seismic reflection studies have shown that reflections from the upper surface of the PHS vary with depth, being stronger in the main slip area of the slow slip events beneath the Boso Peninsula (Boso SSEs). However, the spatial relationship between the reflective area and the SSEs is poorly constrained. This study mapped the distribution of the reflective area using data recorded by ocean bottom seismometers during an active-source seismic experiment. We constructed a 3D P-wave velocity structure by using traveltimes of first arrivals from 18 ocean bottom seismometer records. We also adapted the traveltime mapping method to reflection traveltimes, projecting them to the depth–distance domain, to map the 2D distribution of strong reflections from the top of the PHS. These reflections were concentrated in two areas, one near the main slip area of the Boso SSEs and the other about 60km to the east. In the first area, the absence of strong velocity contrasts near the top of the PHS suggests that the reflections were generated by a thin low-velocity layer. In contrast, the structure of the second area has a convex shape of high velocity with a high velocity gradient near the top of the PHS. This structure may represent boninitic material of the outer-arc high, partially serpentinized peridotite, or gabbro displaced by intraoceanic reverse faults.

Investigation of Firn Aquifer Structure in Southeastern Greenland Using Active Source Seismology

In spring of 2011, a perennial storage of water was observed in the firn of the southeastern Greenland ice sheet, a region of both high snow accumulation and high melt. This aquifer is created through percolation of surface meltwater downward through the firn, saturating the pore space above the ice-firn transition. The aquifer may play a significant role in sea level rise through storage or draining freshwater into the ocean. We carried out a series of active source seismic experiments using continuously refracted P-waves and inverted the first P-arrivals using a transdimensional Bayesian approach where the depth, velocity, and number of layers are allowed to vary to identify the seismic velocities associated with the base of the aquifer. When our seismic approach is combined with a radar sounding of the water table situated at the top of the firn aquifer, we are able to quantify the volume of water present. In our study region, the base of the aquifer lies on average 27.7±2.9 m beneath the surface, with an average thickness of 11.5±5.5 m. Using a Wyllie average for porosity, we found the aquifer has an average water content of 16±8%, with considerable variation in water storage capacity along the studied east-west flow line, 40 km upstream of the Helheim glacier terminus. Between 2015 and 2016, we observed a 1-2 km uphill expansion of the aquifer system, with a site dry in summer 2015 exhibiting a water content of 530 kg m-2 in summer 2016. We estimate the volume of water stored in the aquifer across the entire region upstream of Helheim glacier to be 4.7±3.1 Gt, approximately 3% of the total water stored in firn aquifers across the Greenland ice sheet. Elucidating the volume of water stored within these recently discovered aquifers is vital for determining the hydrological structure and stability of the southeastern Greenland ice sheet.

Active seismic characterization experiments of the Hontomín research facility for geological storage of CO2, Spain

An active source seismic experiment was carried out as part of the subsurface characterization study of the first Spanish Underground Research Facility for Geological Storage of CO2 in Hontomín (Burgos, Spain). The characterization experiment included a 36km2 3D seismic reflection survey and two three-component seismic profiles. The target reservoir is a saline aquifer located at 1450m depth within Lower Jurassic carbonates (Lias). The main seal is formed by interlayered marlstones and marly limestones of Early to Middle Jurassic age (Dogger and Lias). The seismic images obtained allow defining the 3D underground architecture of the reservoir site. The structure consists of an asymmetric dome crosscut by a relatively complex fault system. The detailed characterization of the fracture system is currently under study to unravel the geometric distribution of the faults and their extent within the different formations that form the structure. The constrained model has guided the design of the injection and monitoring boreholes and provided the data for the baseline study. The resultant high resolution seismic model will be used as a reference in future monitoring stages.

Evidence for magmatic underplating and partial melt beneath the Canary Islands derived using teleseismic receiver functions

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focussed on resolving the internal structure of ocean island volcanoes. Traditionally, active source seismic experiments have been used to image the volcano edifice. Here we present results using the analysis of compressional to shear (P to S) converted seismic phases from teleseismic events, recorded by stations involved in an active source experiment “TOM-TEIDEVS” (Ibáñez et al., 2008), on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands. We supplement this data with receiver function (RF) analysis of seismograms from the Canary Islands of Lanzarote and La Palma, applying the extended-time multitaper frequency domain cross-correlation estimation method (Helffrich, 2006). We use the neighbourhood inversion approach of Sambridge (1999a,b) to model the RFs and our results indicate magmatic underplating exists beneath all three islands, ranging from 2 to 8km, but showing no clear correlation with the age of the island. Beneath both La Palma and Tenerife, we find localized low velocity zones (LVZs), which we interpret as due to partial melt, supported by their correlation with the location of historical earthquakes (La Palma) and recent earthquakes (Tenerife). For Lanzarote, we do not sample the most recently volcanically active region and find no evidence for a LVZ. Instead, we find a simple gradational velocity structure, with discontinuities at ∼4, 10 and 18km depth, in line with previous studies.

Crustal composition model across the Bangong–Nujiang suture belt derived from INDEPTH III velocity data

The Bangong–Nujiang suture (BNS) belt separates the Lhasa and Qiangtang plates and, as indicated from previous teleseismic tomography, receiver functions, and active source seismic experiments, record the convergence and collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. In this study, we construct a crustal composition model along the 400 km long NNW–SSE-oriented INDEPTH III profile by comparing the P-wave velocity (VP ), S-wave velocity (VS), VP /VS ratio, density (ρ) and Lam´ e impedances (ρλ, ρμ) to those determined by laboratory measurements of different crustal rock types. Corrections for pressure and temperature are performed in order to directly compare the physical properties determined from the INDEPTH III data with these laboratory measurements made at room temperature and variable pressures. Inversion of the INDEPTH III data set to rock compositions indicates that there are a number of differences in the crustal composition of the Lhasa and Qiangtang plates. For example, while the average composition of the upper crust in both plates is mainly characterized by granite–granodiorite and granite gneiss, these lithologies are much thicker beneath the Lhasa plate. Metagreywacke provides a best fit lithology for the upper crust beneath the BNS. The middle crust in both plates is somewhat similar, with diabase being the best fit for the Lhasa plate and basalt for the Qiangtang plate. The lower crust is quite distinctive for the two plates, with mafic garnet granulite, gabbronorite or troctolite providing a best fit for the Lhasa plate, whereas mafic garnet granulite, marble and anorthositic granulite being the best fit for the Qiangtang plate. While the difference in composition between the two plates may be affected by the different thermal regimes determined for them, it nevertheless appears that the BNS clearly forms a boundary between the physical properties and therefore the composition of the Lhasa and Qiangtang plates.

Quantitative analysis of seismic wave propagation anomalies in azimuth and apparent slowness at Deception Island volcano (Antarctica) using seismic arrays

We analyse shot data recorded by eight seismic arrays during an active-source seismic experiment carried out at Deception Island (Antarctica) in 2005 January. For each source we estimate the apparent slowness and propagation azimuth of the first wave arrival. Since both source and receiver positions are accurately known, we are able to interpret the results in terms of the effect of the heterogeneities of the medium on wave propagation. The results show the presence of significant propagation anomalies. Nearby shots produce large apparent slowness values above 0.6 s km−1, while distant shots produce small values, down to about 0.15–0.20 s km−1. These values are different for each array, which shows the importance of the local structure under the receiver. The spatial distributions of apparent slowness are not radial as we would expect in a flat-layered medium. And again, these distributions are different for each array. The azimuth anomalies defined as the difference between the empirical estimates and the values expected in a 1-D model (i.e. the source-array directions) suggest ubiquitous wave front distortions. We have detected both positive and negative anomalies. For some shot-array geometries, azimuth anomalies are quite large with values up to 60°. The distribution of the anomalies depends on the position of the array. Some of these features can be interpreted in terms of a shallow magma chamber and shallow rigid bodies imaged by high-resolution seismic tomography. However several details remain unexplained. Further work is required, including modelling of synthetic wavefields on realistic models of Deception Island and/or apparent slowness vector tomography.

Underplating of the Hawaiian Swell: evidence from teleseismic receiver functions

SUMMARY The Hawaiian Islands are the canonical example of an age-progressive island chain, formed by volcanism long thought to be fed from a hotspot source that is more or less fixed in the mantle. Geophysical data, however, have so far yielded contradictory evidence on subsurface structure. The substantial bathymetric swell is supportive of an anomalously hot upper mantle, yet seafloor heat flow in the region does not appear to be enhanced. The accumulation of magma beneath pre-existing crust (magmatic underplating) has been suggested to add chemical buoyancy to the swell, but to date the presence of underplating has been constrained only by local active-source experiments. In this study, teleseismic receiver functions derived from seismic events recorded during the PLUME project were analysed to obtain a regional map of crustal structure for the Hawaiian Swell. This method yields results that compare favourably with those from previous studies, but permits a much broader view than possible with activesource seismic experiments. Our results indicate that the crustal structure of the Hawaiian Islands is quite complicated and does not conform to the standard model of sills fed from a central source. We find that a shallowP-to-s conversion, previously hypothesized to result from the volcano-sediment interface, corresponds more closely to the boundary between subaerial and subaqueous extrusive material. Correlation between uplifted bathymetry at ocean-bottomseismometer locations and presence of underplating suggests that much of the Hawaiian Swell is underplated, whereas a lack of underplating beneath the moat surrounding the island of Hawaii suggests that underplated crust outward of the moat has been fed from below by dykes through the lithosphere rather than by sills spreading from the island centre. Local differences in underplating may reflect focusing of magma-filled dykes in response to stress from volcanic loading. Finally, widespread underplating adds chemical buoyancy to the swell, reducing the amplitude of a mantle thermal anomaly needed to match bathymetry and supporting observations of normal heat flow.

Seismic evidence for fluids in fault zones on top of the subducting Cocos Plate beneath Costa Rica

In the 2005 TICOCAVA explosion seismology study in Costa Rica, we observed crustal turning waves with a dominant frequency of ∼10 Hz on a linear array of short-period seismometers from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. On one of the shot records, from Shot 21 in the backarc of the Cordillera Central, we also observed two seismic phases with an unusually high dominant frequency (∼20 Hz). These two phases were recorded in the forearc region of central Costa Rica and arrived ∼7 s apart and 30–40 s after the detonation of Shot 21. We considered the possibility that these secondary arrivals were produced by a local earthquake that may have happened during the active-source seismic experiment. Such high-frequency phases following Shot 21 were not recorded after Shots 22, 23 and 24, all in the backarc of Costa Rica, which might suggest that they were produced by some other source. However, earthquake dislocation models cannot produce seismic waves of such high frequency with significant amplitude. In addition, we would have expected to see more arrivals from such an earthquake on other seismic stations in central Costa Rica. We therefore investigate whether the high-frequency arrivals may be the result of a deep seismic reflection from the subducting Cocos Plate. The timing of these phases is consistent with a shear wave from Shot 21 that was reflected as a compressional (S×P) and a shear (S×S) wave at the top of the subducting Cocos slab between 35 and 55 km depth. The shift in dominant frequency from ∼10 Hz in the downgoing seismic wave to ∼20 Hz in the reflected waves requires a particular seismic structure at the interface between the subducting slab and the forearc mantle to produce a substantial increase in reflection coefficients with frequency. The spectral amplitude characteristics of the S×P and S×S phases from Shot 21 are consistent with a very high Vp/Vs ratio of 6 in ∼5 m thick, slab-parallel layers. This result suggests that a system of thin shear zones near the plate interface beneath the forearc is occupied by hydrous fluids under near-lithostatic conditions. The overpressured shear zone probably takes up fluids from the downgoing slab, and it may control the lower limit of the seismogenic zone.

P-wave velocity structure beneath Asama Volcano, Japan, inferred from active source seismic experiment

An active seismic survey with unprecedented density of seismometers found a high velocity zone to the west of the summit of Asama Volcano, Japan. The high velocity zone coincides with an area of magma-filled crack (dike) intrusion associated with the 2004 eruptions inferred from precise earthquake relocations and ground deformation modeling. It also coincides with an area of high resistivity surrounded by low resistivity, indicating that the solidification of magma due to repeating intrusions is responsible for the high velocity. This thus endorses the magma pathway previously speculated by seismic and geodetic observations. These findings demonstrate that dense seismic exploration combined with geophysical monitoring is an effective way to understand the dynamics of volcanic eruptions.

Refining the image of the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, California using a finite difference travel time computation technique

The Parkfield Area Seismic Observatory (PASO) was a dense, telemetered seismic array that operated for nearly 2 years in a 15 km aperture centered on the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) drill site. The main objective of this deployment was to refine the locations of earthquakes that will serve as potential targets for SAFOD drilling and in the process develop a high (for passive seismological techniques) resolution image of the fault zone structure. A challenging aspect of the analysis of this data set was the known existence of large (20–25%) contrasts in seismic wavespeed across the San Andreas Fault. The resultant distortion of raypaths could challenge the applicability of approximate ray tracing techniques. In order to test the sensitivity of our hypocenter locations and tomographic image to the particular ray tracing and inversion technique employed, we compare an initial determination of locations and structure developed using a coarse grid and an approximate ray tracer [Thurber, C., Roecker, S., Roberts, K., Gold, M., Powell, M.L. , and Rittger, K., 2003. Earthquake locations and three-dimensional fault zone structure along the creeping section of the San Andreas fault near Parkfield, CA: Preparing for SAFOD, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30 3, 10.1029/2002GL016004.] with one derived from a relatively fine grid and an application of a finite difference algorithm [Hole, J.A., and Zelt, B.C., 1995. 3-D finite-difference reflection traveltimes, Geophys. J. Int., 121, 2, 427–434.]. In both cases, we inverted arrival-time data from about 686 local earthquakes and 23 shots simultaneously for earthquake locations and three-dimensional Vp and Vp/Vs structure. Included are data from an active source seismic experiment around the SAFOD site as well as from a vertical array of geophones installed in the 2-km-deep SAFOD pilot hole, drilled in summer 2002. Our results show that the main features of the original analysis are robust: hypocenters are located beneath the trace of the fault in the vicinity of the drill site and the positions of major contrasts in wavespeed are largely the same. At the same time, we determine that shear wave speeds in the upper 2 km of the fault zone are significantly lower than previously estimated, and our estimate of the depth of the main part of the seismogenic zone decreases in places by ∼ 100 m. Tests using “virtual earthquakes” (borehole receiver gathers of picks for surface shots) indicate that our event locations near the borehole currently are accurate to about a few tens of meters horizontally and vertically.

Lithospheric structure beneath trans‐Carpathian transect from Precambrian platform to Pannonian basin: CELEBRATION 2000 seismic profile CEL05

In 2000, a consortium of European and North American institutions completed a huge active source seismic experiment focused on central Europe, the Central European Lithospheric Experiment Based on Refraction or CELEBRATION 2000. This experiment primarily consisted of a network of seismic refraction profiles that extended from the East European craton, along and across the Trans‐European suture zone region in Poland to the Bohemian massif, and through the Carpathians and eastern Alps to the Pannonian basin. The longest profile CEL05 (1420 km) is the focus of this paper. The resulting two‐dimensional tomographic and ray‐tracing models show strong variations in crustal and lower lithospheric structure. Clear crustal thickening from the Pannonian basin (24–25 km thick) to the Trans‐European suture zone region (∼50 km), together with the configuration of the lower lithospheric reflectors, suggests northward subduction of mantle underlying Carpathian‐Pannonian plate under the European plate. This, however, conflicts with strong geological evidence for southward subduction, and we present three tectonic models that are to not totally mutually exclusive, to explain the lithospheric structure of the area: (1) northward “old” subduction of the Pannonian lithosphere under the East European craton in the Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous, (2) a collisional zone containing a “crocodile” structure where Carpatho‐Pannonian upper crust is obducting over the crystalline crust of the East European craton and the Carpathian‐Pannonian mantle lithosphere is underthrusting cratonic lower crust, and (3) lithosphere thinning due to the effects of Neogene extension and heating with the slab associated with “young” subduction southward in the Miocene having been either detached and/or rolled back to the east. In the last case, the northwestward dipping in the lithosphere can be interpreted as being due to isotherms that could represent the lithosphere/asthenosphere boundary in the Pannonian region.

P wave material anisotropy of a tectono‐metamorphic terrane: An active source seismic experiment at the KTB super‐deep drill hole, southeast Germany

An active‐source seismic experiment at the KTB deep drill hole in southeast Germany reveals seismic P wave anisotropy to exist within a tectono‐metamorphic sub‐terrane of the crystalline Bohemian massif. The experiment used multi‐azimuth vertical seismic profiling whereby downhole sensors recorded surface seismic Vibroseis sources located along six 7.5‐km radial profiles emanating from the borehole location. Representative bulk anisotropic P wave velocities of the upper crust were derived from this seismic data and compared with predictions of velocity and anisotropy based on petrophysical laboratory measurements and geological information. We show that azimuth and inclination behavior of the observed anisotropy is consistent with characterization of the geology surrounding the borehole as a coherent regional block containing pervasive highly tilted foliation. This seismic anisotropy can be explained by “intrinsic” material properties associated with the well‐developed foliation fabrics.

Modeling the seismic signature of structural data from the Oman Ophiolite: Can a mantle diapir be detected beneath the East Pacific Rise?

We present modeling of the seismic delay time signature of mantle diapirs mapped in the Oman ophiolite and compare these results with those of active source seismic experiments conducted along the East Pacific Rise. To do so, we construct models of shallow‐mantle, seismic anisotropy that are consistent with Oman diapirs of different size. Forward calculations of the delay time anomalies due to a combination of diapir‐related seismic anisotropy and isotropic velocity structure are compared with those of a two‐dimensional anisotropy field within the same isotropic velocity structure. In the presence of an isotropic, low‐velocity anomaly comparable to that imaged beneath the East Pacific Rise, there are only minor differences between the predicted signals of two‐ and three‐dimensional (diapiric) flow. Tomographic modeling is used to determine if the synthetic data for a diapiric model (with a low‐velocity isotropic anomaly) can be fit by two‐dimensional anisotropy and three‐dimensional velocity variations. The recovered isotropic anomalies are in good agreement with the synthetic model. However, if the diapir is large enough, artifacts are generated near the corners of the model and, locally, at the ridge axis, with slightly higher velocities. Our results indicate that tomographic analyses of existing travel time data from the East Pacific Rise cannot be used to rule out the presence of diapirs beneath an active spreading center if they are similar in scale to those mapped in Oman.

Focused magma supply at the intersection of the Cobb hotspot and the Juan de Fuca ridge

We examine the interplay between the Cobb hotspot and the Juan de Fuca ridge by mapping the base of the crust at their intersection near Axial Volcano. PmP traveltimes from an extensive active source seismic experiment are used in conjunction with prior crustal tomography to map crustal thickness. A cross‐section along the ridge axis consists of two distinct trends. In addition to 1–2 km of excess crust, inferred from gravity along a 100 km section of the central ridge, we find a narrow 20–40 km diameter root extending to 11 km directly beneath the volcano. Focused magma flux from the Cobb hotspot (0.3–0.8 m3/s) is inferred to be the cause of both the narrow root, and the large magma reservoir, at Axial. The rapid return to thinner crust, away from the intersection, marks a transition back to ridge‐dominated magmatism.

Experiment in New Madrid Zone to employ active source

An active source seismic experiment is scheduled for the end of October in the central United States' New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). Researchers from the center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) of the University of Memphis and the U.S. Geological Survey are planning 2600‐lb and 5000‐lb explosions at the southern and northern ends of the NMSZ, respectively.Broadband seismic instruments, other temporary broadband seismic stations, and an array of accelerographs near each source will record the large surface waves generated by the explosions in the unconsolidated sediments of the Mississippi embayment.