Seismic Lithosphere Research Articles

On the recovery of effective elastic thickness using spectral methods: Examples from synthetic data and from the Fennoscandian Shield

There is considerable controversy regarding the long‐term strength of continents (Te). While some authors obtain both low and high Te estimates from the Bouguer coherence and suggest that both crust and mantle contribute to lithospheric strength, others obtain estimates of only <25 km using the free‐air admittance and suggest that the mantle is weak. At the root of this controversy is how accurately Te can be recovered from coherence and admittance. We investigate this question by using synthetic topography and gravity anomaly data for which Te is known. We show that the discrepancies stem from comparison of theoretical curves to multitaper power spectral estimates of free‐air admittance. We reformulate the admittance method and show that it can recover synthetic Te estimates similar to those recovered using coherence. In light of these results, we estimate Te in Fennoscandia and obtain similar results using both techniques. Te is 20–40 km in the Caledonides, 40–60 km in the Swedish Svecofennides, 40–60 km in the Kola peninsula, and 70–100 km in southern Karelia and Svecofennian central Finland. Independent rheological modeling, using a xenolith‐controlled geotherm, predicts similar high Te in central Finland. Because Te exceeds crustal thickness in this area, the mantle must contribute significantly to the total strength. Te in Fennoscandia increases with tectonic age, seismic lithosphere thickness, and decreasing heat flow, and low Te correlates with frequent seismicity. However, in Proterozoic and Archean lithosphere the relationship of Te to age is ambiguous, suggesting that compositional variations may influence the strength of continents.

Seismic evidence for a moderately thick lithosphere beneath the Siberian Platform

We have built a Sv‐wavespeed tomographic model for the upper mantle beneath the Siberian platform and surrounding region derived from the analysis of more than 13,000 fundamental and higher mode regional waveforms. The dense path coverage and rich higher mode content of the data allow building an upper mantle image with an horizontal resolution of a few hundred kilometers extending to ∼400 km depth. The high velocity, upper mantle lid or seismic lithosphere is ∼200 km thick beneath most of the Siberian platform but may extend to ∼250 km depth beneath small areas. A high velocity seismic lid also underlies a large region west of the Siberian platform. Our observation of a ∼200 thick seismic lithosphere beneath the Siberian platform on the slow‐moving Eurasian plate, similar to the thickness of the seismic lithosphere beneath Precambrian terrains on the fast‐moving Australian plate, suggests that a moderately thick seismic lithosphere beneath Precambrian terrains may be more common than previously supposed.

High-resolution estimates of lithospheric thickness from Missouri to Massachusetts, USA

This paper presents a new three-dimensional (3-D) model, NA00, of the S-velocity of the upper mantle beneath North America. The model differs from its predecessor NA95 in that it exploits seismograms recorded by a recent dense, broadband array, MOMA, and from independent measurements of North American crustal thickness. Model NA00 is derived by fitting the waveforms of broadband seismic S and surface waves recorded by the MOMA array and inverting them together with the database of waveform fits used for NA95 and the crustal thickness estimates. It is demonstrated that including data from the dense, broadband MOMA array yields a resolving power beneath the array that is of unprecedented quality and relatively constant over a large depth range. This improved resolution provides a unique opportunity for quantifying the structure of the upper mantle in and below the lower, thick Precambrian lithosphere. The high-resolution seismic structure of the imaged high-velocity lithosphere is compared with the thermal structure (estimated from heat flow), compositional structure (estimated from xenoliths and electrical conductivity) and the elastic structure (estimated from gravity and topography). There is a remarkable agreement between the seismic, thermal, and compositional estimates. The seismic lithosphere is 180 km thick below Missouri and Illinois, 200 km thick below Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, practically undefined below New York, and 80 km below Massachusetts and the Atlantic continental shelf. The thick lithosphere is underlain by a layer with lower S-velocities that could represent a relatively low-viscosity channel. However, the S-velocities in this layer are much higher than those of typical oceanic asthenosphere.

The structure of the upper mantle beneath southern Africa

Abstract A large number of velocity models derived from a variety of seismic data and using different seismic techniques have been published for the Archaean and Proterozoic shields. Here, we focus on the structure beneath southern Africa, where velocity models derived from most regional seismic data find the thickness of the seismic lithosphere to be less than 200 km. In contrast, velocity models derived from teleseismic body-wave and long-period surface-wave data determine the seismic lithosphere to be as much as 400 km thick. We believe that this disagreement is due to the ways in which the various datasets average the velocity structure. Our analysis of regional seismograms from propagation paths largely confined to the stable region shows that the average thickness of the seismic lithosphere beneath southern Africa does not exceed 160 km. We compare the vertical S-wave travel time of our velocity model derived from regional seismic data and those models derived from teleseismic data and find no significant difference. We determine the in situ velocities and densities from nodules from beneath southern Africa using a recently derived geobarometer and geothermometer; these are in excellent agreement with the velocity found in the high-velocity lid from the analysis of the regional seismic data. The lithospheric model that best fits the nodule data has a mechanical boundary layer thickness of 156 km and a lithosphere thickness of 176 km. However, the shear-wave velocity decrease at the base of the lid does not correspond to a change in mineralogy. Recent experimental studies of the shearwave velocity in olivine as a function of temperature and period of oscillation demonstrate that this decrease can result from grain boundary relaxation at high temperatures at the period of seismic waves. This decrease in velocity occurs where the mantle temperature is closest to the melting temperature.

Mantle control of plate boundary deformation

The seismic wavefield propagating along the recently instrumented Pacific‐North American plate boundary (California) displays remarkable variation, with regional shear waves arriving at coastal stations up to 20 seconds earlier than equidistant stations in eastern California. Broadband modeling of this data reveals that coastal paths sample fast upper mantle typical of Miocene‐aged ocean plate (>50 Km thickness). Inland paths sample slower uppermost mantle, with the seismic lithosphere, or lid, measuring less than 5 Km thick, characteristic of the Basin and Range extensional province. The boundary in the uppermost mantle between these provinces is sharp, expressing the juxtaposition of the stronger Pacific plate with weaker continental North America. The lid step coincides with regionally maximum dextral strain rates measured with GPS, suggesting the uppermost mantle modulates long term, regional‐scale continental margin deformation and evolution.

Shear‐wave structure of the lithosphere above the Hawaiian Hot Spot from two‐station Rayleigh wave phase velocity measurements

We have measured fundamental mode Rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion from seismograms of five earthquakes recorded at stations on the islands of Hawaii and Oahu and inverted these data for upper mantle velocity structure. The seismic lithosphere of the velocity model is 88±7 km thick, which is similar to that of 80–90 Myr oceanic lithosphere, indicating that no significant lithospheric thinning takes place above the mantle plume. Below the lithosphere the shear wave velocity decreases to ∼4.0 km s−1. The seismic model is consistent with the structure of the Hawaiian plume model of Watson and McKenzie [1991] which has a 72‐km thick mechanical boundary layer with the shallowest melting occurring at 82 km depth. The difference between the dispersion measured on the Hawaii‐Oahu path and that observed by Woods and Okal [1996] on the Oahu‐Midway path can be explained by the cooling of the injected hot plume material.

Rayleigh-Wave Dispersion Along the Hawaiian Swell: A Test of Lithospheric Thinning By Thermal Rejuvenation At A Hotspot

SUMMARY In this paper we present a seismological test of the 'thermal rejuvenation' model for the formation of the Hawaiian Swell, the archetype of a midplate hotspot swell. Twostation measurements of Rayleigh-wave group and phase velocities between Midway Atoll and O'ahu provide the basis for the test: comparison of the observed dispersion curves with age-dependent, regionalized dispersion curves suggests that the swell has the seismic velocity structure of 50-110 Myr old lithosphere rather than that of 20-50 Myr old lithosphere as suggested by the rejuvenation model. Joint inversion of the group- and phase-velocity curves for isotropic velocity models yields an estimate of - 100 km for the seismic lithosphere's thickness along the swell. This value is difficult to reconcile with the 40-50 km thickness demanded by the rejuvenation model. Preliminary measurements of the coefficients of anelastic attenuation are also presented. Although the accuracy of these values is difficult to assess, they too appear to be consistent with thick lithosphere.

Anisotropic models of the upper mantle

Long period Rayleigh wave and Love wave dispersion data, particularly for oceanic areas, have not been simultaneously satisfied by an isotropic structure. In this paper available phase and group velocity data are inverted by a procedure which includes the effects of transverse anisotropy, anelastic dispersion, sphericity, and gravity. We assume that the surface wave data represents an azimuthal average of actual velocities. Thus, we can treat the mantle as transversely isotropic. The resulting models for average Earth, average ocean, and oceanic regions divided according to the age of the ocean floor, are quite different from previous results which ignore the above effects. The models show a low-velocity zone with age dependent anisotropy and velocities higher than derived in previous surface wave studies. The correspondence between the anisotropy variation with age and a physical model based on flow aligned olivine is suggestive. For most of the Earth SH > SV in the vicinity of the low-velocity zone. Neat the East Pacific Rise, however, SV > SH at depth, consistent with ascending flow. Anisotropy is as important as temperature in causing radial and lateral variations in velocity. The models have a high velocity nearly isotropic layer at the top of the mantle that thickens with age. This layer defines the LID, or seismic lithosphere. In the Pacific, the LID thickens with age to a maximum thickness of ∼50 km. This thickness is comparable to the thickness of the elastic lithosphere. The LID thickness is thinner than derived using isotropic or pseudo-isotropic procedures. A new model for average Earth is obtained which includes a thin LID. This model extends the fit of a PREM, type model to shorter period surface waves.

Mineralogy and composition of the upper mantle

Seismic velocities are calculated for two petrological models of the upper mantle, an olivine‐rich assemblage, pyrolite, and a garnet‐clinopyroxene rich, olivine bearing, assemblage, piclogite. These are compared with recent seismic profiles for various tectonic provinces. The shield data is most consistent with a cold olivine and orthopyroxene‐rich LID (the seismic lithosphere) extending to 150 km followed by a high temperature gradient and/or a change in mineralogy that serves to decrease the velocity. From 200 to 400 km the velocities follow a 1400°C adiabat. The rise‐tectonic mantle is much slower, presumably hotter and is likely to be above the solidus to depths of at least 300 km. The high Vp/Vs ratio of the lower oceanic lithosphere in the western Pacific is most consistent with eclogite.

Uppermantle anisotropy and the oceanic lithosphere

Rayleigh wave and Love wave dispersion data for oceanic paths cannot be satisfied by an isotropic uppermantle, and it is incorrect to invert these two datasets independently for separate isotropic structures. Available phase and group velocity data are inverted for oceanic structure as a function of age taking into account anelastic dispersion, sphericity, and anisotropy. The resulting models are quite different from previous results which ignore the above effects and the extra parameters involved in proper anisotropic inversion.The models have a high‐velocity nearly isotropic layer at the top of the mantle that thickens with age, and an anisotropic low‐velocity zone with an age‐dependent anisotropy. The LID, or seismic lithosphere, reaches a maximum thickness of 50 km which is about one‐half the thickness obtained in previous isotropic or pseudo‐isotropic inversions. The seismic lithosphere therefore may be comparable in thickness to the elastic or flexural lithosphere, raising the possibility that both are controlled by effects other than temperature, stress and time, such as mineralogy, crystal orientation or partial melting. The velocities in the low‐velocity zone are higher than inferred by previous surface wave studies.