1,721,016 research outputs found
Getting started with GMT: an introduction for seismologists
No full textThe Generic Mapping Tools is a free computer software package developed to help scientists, in particular, geoscientists, visualise their data. In this chapter, you will find basic examples to help you get started with making high-quality GMT figures and maps
Tibetan and Indian lithospheres in the upper mantle beneath Tibet: Evidence from broadband surface-wave dispersion
No full textBroadband seismic experiments over the last two decades have produced dense data coverage across Tibet. Yet, the mechanism of the India-Asia lithospheric convergence beneath it remains a puzzle, with even its basic features debated and with very different end-member models advocated today. We measured highly accurate Rayleigh- and Love-wave phase-velocity curves in broad period ranges (up to 5–200 s) for a few tens of pairs and groups of stations across Tibet, combining, in each case, hundreds to thousands of interstation measurements made with cross-correlation and waveform-inversion methods. Robust shear-velocity profiles were then determined by extensive series of nonlinear inversions of the data, designed to constrain the depth-dependent ranges of isotropic-average shear speeds and radial anisotropy. Temperature anomalies in the upper mantle were estimated from shear velocities using accurate petrophysical relationships. Our results reveal strong heterogeneity in the upper mantle beneath Tibet. Very large high-velocity anomalies in the upper mantle are consistent with the presence of underthrust (beneath southwestern Tibet) and subducted (beneath central and eastern Tibet) Indian lithosphere. The corresponding thermal anomalies match those estimated for subducted Indian lithosphere. In contrast to the Indian lithosphere, Tibetan lithosphere and asthenosphere display low-to-normal shear speeds; Tibetan lithosphere is thus warm and thin. Radial anisotropy in the upper mantle is weak in central and strong in northeastern Tibet, possibly reflecting asthenospheric flow above the subducting Indian lithospheric slab
Complex, multilayered azimuthal anisotropy beneath Tibet: Evidence for co-existing channel flow and pure-shear crustal thickening
Full text linkOf the two debated, end-member models for the late-Cenozoic thickening of Tibetan crust, one invokes “channel flow” (rapid viscous flow of the mid-lower crust, driven by topography-induced pressure gradients and transporting crustal rocks eastward) and the other—“pure shear” (faulting and folding in the upper crust, with viscous shortening in the mid-lower crust). Deep-crustal deformation implied by each model is different and would produce different anisotropic rock fabric. Observations of seismic anisotropy can thus offer a discriminant. We use broadband phase-velocity curves—each a robust average of tens to hundreds of measurements—to determine azimuthal anisotropy in the entire lithosphere-asthenosphere depth range and constrain its amplitude. Inversions of the differential dispersion from path pairs, region-average inversions and phase-velocity tomography yield mutually consistent results, defining two highly anisotropic layers with different fast-propagation directions within each: the middle crust and the asthenosphere. In the asthenosphere beneath central and eastern Tibet, anisotropy is 2–4 per cent and has a NNE–SSW fast-propagation azimuth, indicating flow probably driven by the NNE-ward, shallow-angle subduction of India. The distribution and complexity of published shear-wave splitting measurements can be accounted for by the different anisotropy in the mid-lower crust and asthenosphere. The estimated splitting times that would be accumulated in the crust alone are 0.25–0.8 s; in the upper mantle—0.5–1.2 s, depending on location. In the middle crust (20–45 km depth) beneath southern and central Tibet, azimuthal anisotropy is 3–5 and 4–6 per cent, respectively, and its E–W fast-propagation directions are parallel to the current extension at the surface. The rate of the extension is relatively low, however, whereas the large radial anisotropy observed in the middle crust requires strong alignment of mica crystals, implying large finite strain and consistent with high-rate horizontal flow. Together, radial and azimuthal anisotropy suggest eastward mid-crustal channel flow in central Tibet, along the regional topography gradient. In NE high Tibet, mid-crustal azimuthal anisotropy is 4–8 per cent and has WNW–ESE and NW–SE fast-propagation directions, parallel to the net extension at the surface. These fast directions are inconsistent with channel flow following the SW–NE regional topography gradient. Instead, they suggest similar net deformation in the (decoupled) shallow and deep crust. In the brittle upper crust, it is accommodated by strike-slip faulting; in the ductile mid-lower crust—by shear oriented at ∼45° to the faults. Although mid-crustal flow beneath NE Tibet may transport some material towards the plateau periphery at a low region-average rate, the dominant mid-crust deformation pattern is shear parallel to the plateau boundary. This implies that channel flow from central Tibet is not the main cause of the on-going crustal thickening farther northeast
Seismic radial anisotropy in Central-Western Mediterranean and Italian peninsula from ambient noise recordings
No full textA thin mantle transition zone beneath the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge
No full textThe location and degree of material transfer between the upper and lower mantle are key to the Earth’s thermal and chemical evolution. Sinking slabs and rising plumes are generally accepted as locations of transfer1,2, whereas mid-ocean ridges are not typically assumed to have a role3. However, tight constraints from in situ measurements at ridges have proved to be challenging. Here we use receiver functions that reveal the conversion of primary to secondary seismic waves to image the discontinuities that bound the mantle transition zone, using ocean bottom seismic data from the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Our images show that the seismic discontinuity at depths of about 660 kilometres is broadly uplifted by 10 ± 4 kilometres over a swath about 600 kilometres wide and that the 410-kilometre discontinuity is depressed by 5 ± 4 kilometres. This thinning of the mantle transition zone is coincident with slow shear-wave velocities in the mantle, from global seismic tomography4–7. In addition, seismic velocities in the mantle transition zone beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are on average slower than those beneath older Atlantic Ocean seafloor. The observations imply material transfer from the lower to the upper mantle—either continuous or punctuated—that is linked to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Given the length and longevity of the mid-ocean ridge system, this implies that whole-mantle convection may be more prevalent than previously thought, with ridge upwellings having a role in counterbalancing slab downwellings
Performance evaluation of Wied Dalam (WDD) seismic station in Malta
Full text linkThe continual operation of a permanent seismograph, now exceeding a couple of decades in some cases, naturally involves changes of hardware and software over time. Nonetheless, the long-term, consistent performance of the seismic station, and the good quality of its data, is very important for national seismic studies investigating the local seismicity, and also important for the international seismological community researching regional tectonics and deep Earth structures. Here we investigate the data availability and quality of the currently only seismic station on Malta (WDD) since its installation in 1995, and establish spectral patterns in the seismic data that may be influenced by diurnal variations, seasonal weather changes, and/or site-specific settings. The results are important for the future deployment of permanent seismic stations on the Maltese islands, and for the analysis of local seismic hazard and ground motion studies
The Easter Sunday 2011 earthquake swarm offshore Malta: analysis on Felt Reports
Full text linkIn the last forty years, Malta has only experienced a few occasional tremors from local or regional earthquakes, with only some being reported briefly in the local newspapers. These reports gave limited qualitative and quantitative information about the shaking experience felt across the islands. The Seismic Monitoring and Research Unit at the University of Malta has put in place a ‘Did you feel an earthquake?’ online questionnaire in order to start gathering information from locally felt earthquake related shaking. On Easter Sunday 24th of April 2011 windows rattled, doors shook open, and furniture shifted in many homes across Malta when a series of earthquakes occurred 38 km off the eastern coast. In total, the SMRU located 15 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from M L 1.8 to 4.1 over a period of 4 days. A total of 489 felt reports were submitted through the online questionnaire. The compilation of the data is a first of its kind for the Maltese islands. Here we present a summary of the reports following the main shock. A maximum intensity value IV on the European Macroseismic Scale was assigned. No structural damage was reported. The data reflects the demographics as well as the different types of buildings found across the archipelago
Mapping the mantle transition zone beneath Hawaii from Ps receiver functions: Evidence for a hot plume and cold mantle downwellings
No full textHawaii is the archetypal example of hotspot volcanism. Classic plume theory suggests a vertical plume ascent from the core–mantle boundary to the surface. However, recently it has been suggested that the plume path may be more complex. Determining the exact trajectory of the Hawaiian plume seismic anomaly in the mantle has proven challenging. We determine P-to-S (Ps) receiver functions to illuminate the 410- and 660-km depth mantle discontinuities beneath the Hawaiian Islands using waveforms recorded on land and ocean-bottom seismometers, applying new corrections for tilt and coherence to the ocean bottom data. Our 3-D depth-migrated maps provide enhanced lateral resolution of the mantle transition zone discontinuities. The 410 discontinuity is characterised by a deepened area beneath central Hawaii, surrounded by an elevated shoulder. At the 660 discontinuity, shallow topography is located to the north and far south of the islands, and a deep topographic anomaly is located far west and east. The transition zone thickness varies laterally by ±13 km depth: thin beneath north-central Hawaii and thick farther away in a horseshoe-like feature. We infer that at 660-km depth a broad or possibly a double region of upwelling converges into a single plume beneath central Hawaii at 410-km depth. As the plume rises farther, uppermost mantle melting and flow results in the downwelling of cold material, down to at least 410 km surrounding the plume stem. This result in the context of others supports complex plume dynamics including a possible non-vertical plume path and adjacent mantle downwellings
Sediment characterization at the equatorial Mid‐Atlantic Ridge from P‐to‐S teleseismic phase conversions recorded on the PI‐LAB experiment
No full textAccurate marine sediment characteristics, for example, thickness and seismic velocity, are important for constraining sedimentation rates with implications for climate variations and for seismic imaging of deeper structures using ocean bottom seismic deployments. We analyze P‐to‐S seismic phase conversions from the sediment‐crust boundary recorded by the Passive Imaging of the Lithosphere‐Asthenosphere Boundary (PI‐LAB) experiment to infer the sediment thickness across the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge covering 0‐ to 80‐Myr‐old seafloor. We find Pds‐P delay times of 0.04–0.37 s, or 5‐ to 82‐m thickness. Sediment thickness increases with age. Thickness agrees with global estimates for young (<15–20 Myr) seafloor but is thinner on older lithosphere. Our result may represent a lower limit on sediment thickness, given that several of our stations are on topographic highs. The sedimentation rate decrease observed from 5 to 1.2 mm/kyr at ∼10 Myr suggests a recent increase in productivity related to climate change, eolian dust fluxes, and/or biogenic marine activity
Evidence for melt leakage from the Hawaiian plume above the mantle transition zone
No full textDehydration reactions at the top of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) can stabilize partial melt in a seismic low-velocity layer (LVL), but the seismic effects of temperature, melt and volatile content are difficult to distinguish. We invert P-to-S receiver function phases converted at the top and bottom of a LVL above the MTZ beneath Hawaii. To separate the thermal and melting related seismic anomalies, we carry out over 10 million rock physics inversions. These inversions account for variations arising from the Clapeyron slope of phase transition, bulk solid composition, dihedral angle, and mantle potential temperature. We use two independent seismic constraints to evaluate the temperature and shear wave speed within the LVL. The thermal anomalies reveal the presence of a hot and seismically slow plume stem surrounded by a “halo” of cold and fast mantle material. In contrast to this temperature distribution, the plume stem contains less than 0.5vol% melt, while the surrounding LVL—within the coverage area—contains up to 1.7vol% melt, indicating possible lateral transport of the melt. When compared to the melting temperatures of mantle rocks, the temperature within the LVL, calculated from seismic observations of MTZ thickness, suggests that the observed small degrees of melting are sustained by the presence of volatiles such as CO2 and H2O. We estimate the Hawaiian plume loses up to 1.9Mt/yr H2O and 10.7Mt/yr CO2 to the LVL, providing a crucial missing flux for global volatile cycles
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