scholarly journals Lowermost mantle shear‐velocity structure from hierarchical trans‐dimensional Bayesian tomography

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mousavi ◽  
H. Tkalčić ◽  
R. Hawkins ◽  
M. Sambridge
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Shear Velocity ◽  
Lowermost Mantle

scholarly journals Lowermost mantle shear-velocity structure from hierarchical trans-dimensional Bayesian tomography

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sima Mousavi ◽  
Hrvoje Tkalčić ◽  
Rhys Hawkins ◽  
Malcolm Sambridge
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Model Space ◽  
Shear Velocity ◽  
Outer Core ◽  
Travel Times ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Spatial Coverage ◽  
Lowermost Mantle

The core-mantle boundary (CMB) is the most extreme boundary within the Earth where the liquid, iron-rich outer core interacts with the rocky, silicate mantle. The nature of the lowermost mantle atop the CMB, and its role in mantle dynamics, is not completely understood. Various regional studies have documented significant heterogeneities at different spatial scales. While there is a consensus on the long scale-length structure of the inferred S-wave speed tomograms, there are also notable differences stemming from different imaging methods and datasets. Here we aim to overcome over-smoothing and avoid over-fitting data for the case where the spatial coverage is sparse and the inverse problem ill-posed. Here we present an S-wave tomography model at global scale for the Lowermost Mantle (LM) using the Hierarchical Trans-dimensional Bayesian Inversion (HTDBI) framework, LM-HTDBI. Our HTDBI analysis of ScS-S travel times includes uncertainty, and the complexity of the model is deduced from the data itself through an implicit parameterization of the model space. Our comprehensive resolution estimates indicate that short-scale anomalies are significant and resolvable features of the lowermost mantle regardless of the chosen mantle-model reference to correct the travel times above the D’’ layer. The recovered morphology of the Large-Low-Shear-wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) is complex, featuring small high-velocity patches among low-velocity domains. Instead of two large, unified, and smooth LLSVPs, the newly obtained images suggest that their margins are not uniformly flat.

scholarly journals Imaging New Zealand's Crustal Structure Using Ambient Seismic Noise Recordings from Permanent and Temporary Instruments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Yannik Behr
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Noise ◽  
Cross Correlation ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Shear Velocity ◽  
Ambient Seismic Noise ◽  
Uppermost Mantle ◽  
Noise Sources ◽  
Noise Field ◽  
Rayleigh And Love Waves ◽  
Noise Cross Correlation

<p>We use ambient seismic noise to image the crust and uppermost mantle, and to determine the spatiotemporal characteristics of the noise field itself, and examine the way in which those characteristics may influence imaging results. Surface wave information extracted from ambient seismic noise using cross-correlation methods significantly enhances our knowledge of the crustal and uppermost mantle shear-velocity structure of New Zealand. We assemble a large dataset of three-component broadband continuous seismic data from temporary and permanent seismic stations, increasing the achievable resolution of surface wave velocity maps in comparison to a previous study. Three-component data enables us to examine both Rayleigh and Love waves using noise cross-correlation functions. Employing a Monte Carlo inversion method, we invert Rayleigh and Love wave phase and group velocity dispersion curves separately for spatially averaged isotropic shear velocity models beneath the Northland Peninsula. The results yield first-order radial anisotropy estimates of 2% in the upper crust and up to 15% in the lower crust, and estimates of Moho depth and uppermost mantle velocity compatible with previous studies. We also construct a high-resolution, pseudo-3D image of the shear-velocity distribution in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the central North Island using Rayleigh and Love waves. We document, for the first time, the lateral extent of low shear-velocity zones in the upper and mid-crust beneath the highly active Taupo Volcanic Zone, which have been reported previously based on spatially confined 1D shear-velocity profiles. Attributing these low shear-velocities to the presence of partial melt, we use an empirical relation to estimate an average percentage of partial melt of < 4:2% in the upper and middle crust. Analysis of the ambient seismic noise field in the North Island using plane wave beamforming and slant stacking indicates that higher mode Rayleigh waves can be detected, in addition to the fundamental mode. The azimuthal distributions of seismic noise sources inferred from beamforming are compatible with high near-coastal ocean wave heights in the period band of the secondary microseism (~7 s). Averaged over 130 days, the distribution of seismic noise sources is azimuthally homogeneous, indicating that the seismic noise field is well-suited to noise cross-correlation studies. This is underpinned by the good agreement of our results with those from previous studies. The effective homogeneity of the seismic noise field and the large dataset of noise cross-correlation functions we here compiled, provide the cornerstone for future studies of ambient seismic noise and crustal shear velocity structure in New Zealand.</p>

scholarly journals Shear velocity structure beneath the central United States: implications for the origin of the Illinois Basin and intraplate seismicity

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1020-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Chen ◽  
Hersh Gilbert ◽  
Christopher Andronicos ◽  
Michael W. Hamburger ◽  
Timothy Larson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Shear Velocity ◽  
Illinois Basin ◽  
Intraplate Seismicity ◽  
Central United States
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