Wave Speed Structure Research Articles

Ambient Noise Tomography Using a Nodal Seismic Array Reveals Evidence for Igneous Intrusion Contributed to Ore Deposits in South China

Abstract The causes of the large-scale and intense magmatism in South China and its coeval metallogenic processes in the Mesozoic have been debated, due partly to the lack of a high-resolution crustal model. In this study, we deploy ∼500 nodal seismometers around the Nanling metallogenic belt in South China, including one linear array across the metallogenic belt and one 2D array around the Fankou ore deposit: a deposit that hosts large amounts of lead and zinc in China. The derivation of the Moho and the intracrustal structures with receiver function imaging using the linear array was conducted in a separate study. Here, we focus mainly on the shallow shear wavespeed structure in the upper crust (from the surface to about 8 km depth) using ambient noise tomography with the 2D array data. We find low-shear wavespeed anomalies (VS<2.8 km/s) associated with a basin down to about 3.0 km and several high-shear wavespeed anomalies (VS>3.6 km/s) below 6.0 km adjacent to the Fankou ore deposit, which we interpret as the crystallized igneous intrusions in the Mesozoic. Gravity modeling shows that the high density anomaly derived using the wavespeed model is required to improve the data fitting. Considering the temperature derived from a typical geothermal gradient is insufficient for mineralization, we propose that the fluid and heat brought by the igneous intrusion might contribute to the mineral concentration of the Fankou ore deposit. This observation is consistent with geochemical and petrological evidence of diabase and quartz diorite veins in the study region. The experiment shows that ambient noise tomography using dense nodal arrays has the potential in resolving the favorable conditions for ore formation and may play a role in future ore exploration.

Mantle Wavespeed and Discontinuity Structure Below East Africa: Implications for Cenozoic Hotspot Tectonism and the Development of the Turkana Depression

AbstractEthiopia's Cenozoic flood basalt magmatism, uplift, and rifting have been attributed to one or more mantle plumes. The Nubian plate, however, has drifted 500–1,000 km north since initial magmatism at ∼45 Ma, having developed above mantle that now underlies the northern Tanzania craton and the low‐lying Turkana Depression. Unfortunately, our knowledge of mantle wavespeed structure and mantle transition zone (MTZ) topography below these regions is poorest, due to a historical lack of seismograph stations. The same data gap means we lack constraints on lithospheric structure in and around the NW–SE trending Mesozoic Anza rift. We exploit data from new seismograph networks in the Turkana Depression and neighboring northern Uganda to develop AFRP22, a new African absolute P‐wavespeed tomographic model that resolves whole mantle structure along the entire East African rift system. We also map MTZ thickness using Ps receiver functions. East Africa's thinnest MTZ (∼25 km thinning) underlies the northwest Turkana Depression. AFRP22 reveals a co‐located, previously unrecognized, slow wavespeed plume tail, extending from the MTZ, deep into the lower mantle. This plume may thus have contributed, along with the African Superplume, to the development of the 45–30 Ma flood basalt province that preceded extension. Pervasive sub‐lithospheric slow wavespeeds imply that Turkana's present‐day low elevation is explained best by Mesozoic and Cenozoic‐age crustal thinning. At ∼100 km depth, AFRP22 illuminates a fast wavespeed SE Ethiopian plateau. In addition to governing the northernmost limit of Mesozoic Anza rifting, the refractory nature of this lithospheric block likely minimized Cenozoic flood basalt magmatism there.

Mantle Q structure from S, SS, SSS and SSSS amplitude measurements

SUMMARY The seismic quality factor (Q) of the Earth’s mantle is of great importance for the understanding of the physical and chemical properties that control mantle anelasticity. The radial structure of the Earth’s Q is less well resolved compared to its wave speed structure, and large discrepancies exist among global 1-D Q models. In this study, we build a global data set of amplitude measurements of S, SS, SSS and SSSS waves using earthquakes that occurred between 2009 and 2017 with moment magnitudes ranging from 6.5 to 8.0. Synthetic seismograms for those events are computed in a 1-D reference model PREM, and amplitude ratios between observed and synthetic seismograms are calculated in the frequency domain by spectra division, with measurement windows determined based on visual inspection of seismograms. We simulate wave propagation in a global velocity model S40RTS based on SPECFEM3D and show that the average amplitude ratio as a function of epicentral distance is not sensitive to 3-D focusing and defocusing for the source–receiver configuration of the data set. This data set includes about 5500 S and SS measurements that are not affected by mantle transition zone triplications (multiple ray paths), and those measurements are applied in linear inversions to obtain a preliminary 1-D Q model QMSI. This model reveals a high Q region in the uppermost lower mantle. While model QMSI improves the overall datafit of the entire data set, it does not fully explain SS amplitudes at short epicentral distances or the amplitudes of the SSS and SSSS waves. Using forward modelling, we modify the 1-D model QMSI iteratively to reduce the overall amplitude misfit of the entire data set. The final Q model QMSF requires a stronger and thicker high Q region at depths between 600 and 900 km. This anelastic structure indicates possible viscosity layering in the mid mantle.

Adjoint tomography of the Italian lithosphere

The evolution and state of geological structure at Earth’s surface is best understood with an accurate characterization of the subsurface. Here we present seismic tomographic images of the Italian lithosphere based on ground motion recordings and characterized by compressional and shear wavespeed structure at remarkable resolution, corresponding to a minimum period of ~10 s. Enhanced accuracy is enabled by state-of-the-art three-dimensional wavefield simulations in combination with an adjoint-state method. We focus on three primary findings of our model Im25. It highlights the distribution of fluids and gas (CO2) within the Italian subsurface and their correlation with seismicity. It illuminates Mt. Etna volcano and supports the hypothesis of a deep reservoir (~30 km) feeding a shallower magma-filled intrusive body. Offshore of the eastern Italian coast, it reveals that the Adriatic plate is made of two distinct microplates, separated by the Gargano deformation zone, indicating a complex lithosphere and tectonic evolution.

Body Wave Speed Structure of Eastern North America

AbstractThe eastern, passive margin of the North American continent is more heterogeneous than originally envisioned. Imaged by teleseismic body wave arrivals, both compressional Vp and shear Vsh, the lithospheric mantle of the stable, eastern North America contains rapid and large wave speed variations from the fast, older interior toward the slower, margin structures along the continental edge. At multiple regions at the continental edge, wave speeds indicate the presence of a small amount of melt, <1%–2%. Melt assessments were computed using a suite of mineralogical/petrological models to convert Vp and Vsh into absolute temperatures and melt fraction. Moreover, along the Atlantic margin, wave speeds are lower than expected for a previously rifted margin. Within the continent interior, wave speeds in the mantle lithosphere vary spatially at wavelengths, suggesting strong compositional and mineralogical influence likely a result of later stage alteration from volatile rich fluids.

Observation and inversion of very-low-frequency seismo-acoustic fields in the South China Sea.

Very-low-frequency (VLF) sound has significant potential for underwater detection and estimation of geoacoustic models of the ocean bottom structure. In marine settings, one type of VLF sound is the interface wave. These waves, trapped near the fluid-solid interface, are called Scholte waves, and this is the subject of this study. A field experiment was carried out in the South China Sea with the objective of exciting Scholte waves and investigating the propagation. The data were acquired by an ocean bottom seismometer, deployed on the seafloor. A large volume airgun array near the sea surface provided the sound source. The fundamental and three higher-order mode Scholte waves were excited. The Scholte waves are investigated by seismograms and a phase velocity inversion. The observed frequencies are in the range of 1.0-2.9 Hz. The energy attenuation is proportional to 1/r at the peak frequency 1.4 Hz. The shear wave speed structure, down to 600 m beneath the seafloor, is revealed from the dispersion curves by a least-squares inversion algorithm. The inversion result shows that the shear wave speed is below 300 m/s in the uppermost layer, which explains well the weak excitation of Scholte waves in this experiment.

Simulation of Broadband Ground Motion by Superposing High-Frequency Empirical Green’s Function Synthetics on Low-Frequency Spectral-Element Synthetics

Seismic wave-propagation simulations are limited in their frequency content by two main factors: (1) the resolution of the seismic wave-speed structure of the region in which the seismic waves are propagated through; and (2) the extent of our understanding of the rupture process, mainly on the short length scales. For this reason, high-frequency content in the ground motion must be simulated through other means. Toward this end, we adopt a variant of the classical empirical Green’s function (EGF) approach of summing, with suitable time shift, recorded seismograms from small earthquakes in the past to generate high-frequency seismograms (0.5–5.0 Hz) for engineering applications. We superimpose these seismograms on low-frequency seismograms, computed from kinematic source models using the spectral element method, to produce broadband seismograms. The non-uniform time- shift scheme used in this work alleviates the over-estimation of high-frequency content of the ground motions observed. We validate the methodology by simulating broadband motions from the 1999 Hector Mine and the 2006 Parkfield earthquakes and comparing them against recorded seismograms.

Relaxation algorithms for matrix completion, with applications to seismic travel-time data interpolation

Travel time tomography is used to infer the underlying three-dimensional wavespeed structure of the Earth by fitting seismic travel time data collected at surface stations. Data interpolation and denoising techniques are important pre-processing steps that use prior knowledge about the data, including parsimony in the frequency and wavelet domains, low-rank structure of matricizations, and local smoothness.We show how local smoothness structure can be combined with low rank constraints using level-set optimization formulations, and develop a new relaxation algorithm that can efficiently solve these joint problems. In the seismology setting, we use the approach to interpolate missing stations and de-noise observed stations. The new approach is competitive with alternative algorithms, and offers new functionality to interpolate observed data using both smoothness and low rank structure in the presence of data fitting constraints.

Lithospheric foundering and underthrusting imaged beneath Tibet

Long-standing debates exist over the timing and mechanism of uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and, more specifically, over the connection between lithospheric evolution and surface expressions of plateau uplift and volcanism. Here we show a T-shaped high wave speed structure in our new tomographic model beneath South-Central Tibet, interpreted as an upper-mantle remnant from earlier lithospheric foundering. Its spatial correlation with ultrapotassic and adakitic magmatism supports the hypothesis of convective removal of thickened Tibetan lithosphere causing major uplift of Southern Tibet during the Oligocene. Lithospheric foundering induces an asthenospheric drag force, which drives continued underthrusting of the Indian continental lithosphere and shortening and thickening of the Northern Tibetan lithosphere. Surface uplift of Northern Tibet is subject to more recent asthenospheric upwelling and thermal erosion of thickened lithosphere, which is spatially consistent with recent potassic volcanism and an imaged narrow low wave speed zone in the uppermost mantle.

Insights on Upper Mantle Melting, Rheology, and Anelastic Behavior From Seismic Shear Wave Tomography.

In seismic tomography we map the wave speed structure inside the Earth, but we ultimately seek to interpret those images in terms of physical parameters. This is challenging because many parameters can trade‐off with each other to produce a given wave speed. The problem is compounded by the convention of mapping seismic structures as perturbations relative to a 1‐D reference model, rather than absolute wave speeds. Using a full waveform tomography model of Europe as a case study, we quantify the extent to which thermochemical and dynamic properties can be constrained using only S wave speed, expressed in absolute values. The wave speed distributions of this tomography model are compared with 4 million thermochemical models, whose seismic properties are computed via thermodynamic modeling. These models sample the full range of realistic mantle compositions, including variable water and melt contents, and mineral intrinsic anelasticity is taken into account. Intrinsic anelasticity causes waves to travel more slowly at higher temperatures, leading to seismic attenuation, but the sensitivity of the wave speed reduction to temperature is, in turn, controlled by the wave frequency. Global studies of surface waves indicate an anticorrelation between S wave speed and attenuation. We therefore only retain thermochemical models satisfying this anticorrelation. Our study indicates that the frequency dependence of anelasticity, α, depends on temperature or rheology, with α ≈ 0.1 being most appropriate in cold or lithospheric mantle and α ≈ 0.3 in warmer regions (i.e., the asthenosphere). Additionally, the slowest regions require specific compositions and/or a velocity‐weakening mechanism, such as partial melting, elastically accommodated grain boundary sliding, or water.

Crustal wave speed structure of North Texas and Oklahoma based on ambient noise cross-correlation functions and adjoint tomography

Crustal wave speed structure of North Texas and Oklahoma based on ambient noise cross-correlation functions and adjoint tomography

Lithospheric foundering and underthrusting imaged beneath Tibet

Long-standing debates exist over the timing and mechanism of uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and, more specifically, over the connection between lithospheric evolution and surface expressions of plateau uplift and volcanism. Here we show a T-shaped high wave speed structure in our new tomographic model beneath South-Central Tibet, interpreted as an upper-mantle remnant from earlier lithospheric foundering. Its spatial correlation with ultrapotassic and adakitic magmatism supports the hypothesis of convective removal of thickened Tibetan lithosphere causing major uplift of Southern Tibet during the Oligocene. Lithospheric foundering induces an asthenospheric drag force, which drives continued underthrusting of the Indian continental lithosphere and shortening and thickening of the Northern Tibetan lithosphere. Surface uplift of Northern Tibet is subject to more recent asthenospheric upwelling and thermal erosion of thickened lithosphere, which is spatially consistent with recent potassic volcanism and an imaged narrow low wave speed zone in the uppermost mantle.

Wave speed structure of the eastern North American margin

The eastern North American margin (ENAM) is the result of nearly a billion years of continental collision and rifting. To the west of this margin lies thick continental lithosphere of the North American craton, and to the east is oceanic lithosphere in the Atlantic. The substantial changes in lithosphere thickness at this boundary are thought to drive asthenosphere upwelling along the edge of the continent. Through iterative, full-waveform, ambient noise tomography, we observe a heterogeneous low wave speed margin along the continent in the upper mantle. Multiple low wave speed features imaged within the margin are consistent with asthenospeheric upwelling due to edge-driven convection. Also within the margin are high wave speed anomalies that maybe the remnants of eclogitic delamination of the Appalachian crustal root, which contribute to convection at the margin. Edge driven, small-scale convection keeps the margin weak and thus controls the large scale plate tectonic patterns and the crustal deformation. The imaged mantle wave speed anomalies, interpreted as edge-driven convection, correlate with and may increase the likelihood of damaging earthquakes in the eastern portion of North America.

Double-difference adjoint seismic tomography

We introduce a `double-difference' method for the inversion for seismic wavespeed structure based on adjoint tomography. Differences between seismic observations and model predictions at individual stations may arise from factors other than structural heterogeneity, such as errors in the assumed source-time function, inaccurate timings, and systematic uncertainties. To alleviate the corresponding nonuniqueness in the inverse problem, we construct differential measurements between stations, thereby reducing the influence of the source signature and systematic errors. We minimize the discrepancy between observations and simulations in terms of the differential measurements made on station pairs. We show how to implement the double-difference concept in adjoint tomography, both theoretically and in practice. We compare the sensitivities of absolute and differential measurements. The former provide absolute information on structure along the ray paths between stations and sources, whereas the latter explain relative (and thus higher-resolution) structural variations in areas close to the stations. Whereas in conventional tomography a measurement made on a single earthquake-station pair provides very limited structural information, in double-difference tomography one earthquake can actually resolve significant details of the structure. The double-difference methodology can be incorporated into the usual adjoint tomography workflow by simply pairing up all conventional measurements; the computational cost of the necessary adjoint simulations is largely unaffected. Rather than adding to the computational burden, the inversion of double-difference measurements merely modifies the construction of the adjoint sources for data assimilation.

Uppermost mantle P wavespeed structure beneath eastern China and its surroundings

Pn travel-time tomography provides a way of improving structural information on the uppermost mantle across eastern China exploiting recent developments of dense seismic networks with well recorded seismic events. We used waveforms from 2009 at Chinese stations, supplemented by bulletin arrival times. An initial P wave model was constructed using the crustal model from CRUST1.0 coupled to a P wave model in the mantle derived from the SL2013sv model to capture the broad-scale features. This starting model enables us to compensate for the large contrasts in crustal thickness across the region. All events were relocated using the initial 3-D P model, and after relocation, consistent patterns of travel-time residuals are obtained. We extract Pn as the first arrival in the distance range 1.8∘ to 12∘. We use the FMTOMO (Fast Marching TOMOgraphy) approach to invert the travel-time results to generate a P wavespeed structure with a resolution of 2∘×2∘ down to 75km. There are considerable variations in Pn wavespeed in the uppermost mantle across the region. The central portion of the North China craton is imaged with particularly slow P wavespeeds, whilst most of the neighbouring Ordos block is fast. Fast P wavespeeds extend through much of the uppermost mantle beneath eastern Central Asia Orogen, northeast China and beneath the Korean peninsula. In the south, the Sichuan Block and the western Yangtze craton show rather fast P wavespeeds. The Tanlu fault system appears to cut through the crust into the mantle with marked slow P wavespeed at its southern end.

Uppermost mantle structure of the Australian continent from Pn traveltime tomography

AbstractPast studies of the seismic structure of the Australian continent have dominantly exploited surface wave tomography for the mantle, with seismic refraction, receiver functions, and ambient noise used for crustal structure. The 3‐D structure has been summarized in the Australian Seismological Reference Model (AuSREM), for which the zone immediately below the crust is the least well characterized. Pn traveltime tomography provides a way of improving structural information on the uppermost mantle across the continent. We have exploited waveforms from larger events across Australia recorded at both permanent and portable stations since 1993, supplemented by bulletin arrival times. To compensate for the large velocity contrasts, with much faster mantle wave speeds in the center and west, all events were relocated using the AuSREM model. After relocation, consistent patterns of traveltime residuals are obtained. We extract Pn as the first arrival in the distance range 1.8° to 15°. We use the FMTOMO approach to invert the travel‐time residuals to generate a P wave speed structure with a resolution of 3°×3°. There is strong heterogeneity in Pn wave speed in the uppermost mantle across the continent. The fastest Pn wave speed of 8.36 km/s beneath the Precambrian cratons of western and central Australia is 3.99% faster than the global ak135 model, and the slowest Pn wave speed 7.66 km/s on the eastern margin is 4.74% slower. The slowest velocities in the uppermost mantle are found along the eastern margin of the Australian continent beneath the Phanerozoic orogenic belts, with links to Neogene volcanism.

The fate of the Indian lithosphere beneath western Tibet: Upper mantle elastic wave speed structure from a joint teleseismic and regional body wave tomographic study

We investigate the fate of the Indian lithosphere following its descent beneath western Tibet by means of tomographic imaging based on arrival times of body waves from regional and teleseismic sources recorded by a portable network deployed in the region from 2007 to 2011. We use a non-linear iterative algorithm that simultaneously models absolute, regional, and relative teleseismic arrival times to obtain a 3-D velocity structure in a spherical segment that extends from 26°N to 37°N, from 76°E to 89°E, and from the surface to 430km depth. We find that variations in P and S wave speeds in the upper mantle are similar, and identify a number of prominent fast anomalies beneath western Tibet and the adjacent Himalayas. We associate these fast anomalies with the mantle lithosphere of India that is likely colder and hence faster than the ambient mantle. Resolution tests confirm the ability of our dataset to resolve their shapes in the upper 300km, and the lack of significant downward smearing of these features. We interpret the presence of faster material below 300km as being consistent with former Indian lithosphere having reached these depths. There are two main fast anomalies in our model. One resembles a ∼100km wide sub-vertical column located directly beneath the India-Asia plate boundary. The other anomaly is thinner, and has the shape of a dipping slab that spans the north-south width of the Lhasa block. It dips towards the NE, starting near the Indus-Yarlung suture and ending north of the Bangong-Nujiang Suture at depths in excess of 300km. Another finding of our study is the absence of major fast anomalies west of ∼80°E, which our resolution tests show to be significant. Our results do not support the notion of a continuous body of formerly Indian lithosphere being presently underthrust northward, and extending all the way to the northern boundary of the plateau. Rather, shapes of fast anomalies in western Tibet suggest colder material beneath the northernmost Himalaya and the southernmost part of the plateau. The presence of multiple relatively small-scale anomalies, rather than a single large fast body aligned with the India-Asia boundary, rules out subduction of the intact Indian lithosphere. Our preferred scenario for the process that currently removes the mantle lithosphere of India from the collision zone envisages viscous behavior, with gravity-driven instabilities leading to the formation of multiple drips of different size. To reconcile our findings with evidence of past underthrusting of Indian lithosphere beneath Tibet we postulate a geologically recent change in the mode of lithosphere removal. Our scenario includes initial underthrusting, subsequent gravitational destabilization, and removal of the mantle lithosphere of Indian plate. At present the mantle lithosphere of India that continues to underthrust southern Tibet develops a drip-like instability that is seen as a fast columnar feature in our model.

The hard sphere view of the outer core

The hard sphere model for liquids attempts to capture the physical behavior of a real liquid in a simple conceptual model: a fluid of fixed size spheres that only interact repulsively when they come into contact. Is the model good enough to use for modeling internal planetary structure? To answer this question, I survey variants of hard sphere liquid theory by applying them to the Earth’s outer core to determine which of them explains wavespeeds in the outer core best. The variants explored here are the Carnahan-Starling hard sphere model, the Mansoori-Canfield extension to hard sphere mixtures, the transition metal hard sphere liquid, and the Lennard-Jones hard sphere liquid with attractive forces. With an empirical addition of a temperature dependence to the liquid’s hard sphere diameter, all of the variants explored can replicate wavespeeds in most of the radius range of the outer core. The hard sphere model for liquid transition metals explains the wavespeed best because it yields a mean liquid atomic weight of 48.8 g mol −1 at 10 wt% light element abundance in the core which is in good cosmochemical agreement with core light element models. Other variants also fit core wavespeeds but require implausibly low liquid mean atomic weight implying excessive incorporation of hydrogen or helium in the core. Applied to the detailed wavespeed structure of the Earth’s outermost outer core, the model suggests that the mean atomic weight could be reduced by up to 1.74% or the temperature could be increased by up to 400 K relative to an adiabatic profile, or there could be 8% fewer valence electrons in the liquid.

Seismic wave speed structure of the Ontong Java Plateau

The Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) represents the result of a significant event in the Earth's geologic history. Limited geophysical and geochemical data, as well as the plateau's relative isolation in the Pacific ocean, have made interpretation of the modern day geologic structure and its 120 Ma formation history difficult.Here we present the highest resolution image to date of the wave speed structure of the OJP region. We use a data set that combines Rayleigh waves extracted from both ambient noise and earthquake waveforms and an iterative finite-frequency tomography methodology. The combination of datasets allow us to best exploit the limited station distribution in the Pacific and image wave speed structures between 35 km and 300 km into the Earth.We image a region of fast shear wave speeds, greater than 4.75 km/s, that extends to greater than 100 km beneath the plateau. The wave speeds are similar to as observed in cratonic environments and are consistent with a compositional anomaly that resulted from the residuum of eclogite entrainment during the plateau's formation.The combination of our imaged wave speed structure and previous geochemical work suggest that a surfacing plume head entrained eclogite from the deep mantle and accounts for the anomalous buoyancy characteristics of the plateau and observed fast wave speeds.

Crustal and uppermost mantle structure beneath western Tibet using seismic traveltime tomography

AbstractWe study the elastic wave speed structure of the crust and the uppermost mantle in western Tibet using P wave and S wave arrival times from regional earthquakes recorded by a temporary seismic network. We relocate the earthquakes, and subsequently invert travel time residuals for 3‐D distributions of wave speed. Resolution tests with a variety of input structures are used to verify the reliability of our results. The crust beneath western Tibet has low P wave speed (5.9–6.3 km/s) throughout its nearly 80 km thickness, with lower values in this range concentrated within the Lhasa block. Beneath the Himalaya wave speeds are higher. Southern and western limits of the slow material beneath the Tibetan Plateau correlate with the Karakoram fault, and dip beneath the plateau at ∼40° angle. We find no evidence of a subhorizontal low velocity zone in the crust. In the uppermost mantle, we find a long and narrow region of fast (up to 8.4 km/s) P wave speed extending from the Karakoram fault in NE direction, and crossing the Bangong‐Nujiang suture. In a north‐south cross section, the distribution of relatively fast P wave speed suggests a ramp‐flat geometry consistent with India underthrusting the Tibetan Plateau at least as far as 32.5°N. A plausible interpretation of the upper mantle fast feature is the formation of eclogite from the mafic lower‐crustal material of India after it is underthrust beneath Tibet. Notably, in western Tibet this process only takes place in a narrow region.