Receiver Function and Geometric Tomography along the Monterey Microplate to Test Slab Delamination or Lithospheric Drip Models of the Isabella Anomaly, California

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Cox ◽  
Igor Stubailo ◽  
Paul Davis
2020 ◽  
Vol 224 (2) ◽  
pp. 1188-1196
Author(s):  
Sara L Dougherty ◽  
Chengxin Jiang ◽  
Robert W Clayton ◽  
Brandon Schmandt ◽  
Steven M Hansen

SUMMARY A teleseismic receiver function image of a slab-like feature that extends from the Pacific coast to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada beneath central California connects the expected location of the subducted remnant of the Monterey microplate to the high-velocity Isabella anomaly in the upper mantle. The observed structure indicates that this anomaly is a relic of the subduction zone that preceded capture of the Monterey microplate by the Pacific plate and is not due to the delamination of the lithosphere beneath the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as had been previously proposed. The fossil slab connection is also supported by surface wave tomographic images. The images are derived in part from a new linear broad-band array across the western part of central California.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Hansen ◽  
◽  
Brandon Schmandt ◽  
Sara Dougherty ◽  
Robert Clayton

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aki Ito ◽  
Takashi Tonegawa ◽  
Naoki Uchida ◽  
Yojiro Yamamoto ◽  
Daisuke Suetsugu ◽  
...  

Abstract We applied tomographic inversion and receiver function analysis to seismic data from ocean-bottom seismometers and land-based stations to understand the structure and its relationship with slow slip events off Boso, Japan. First, we delineated the upper boundary of the Philippine Sea Plate based on both the velocity structure and the locations of the low-angle thrust-faulting earthquakes. The upper boundary of the Philippine Sea Plate is distorted upward by a few kilometers between 140.5 and 141.0°E. We also determined the eastern edge of the Philippine Sea Plate based on the delineated upper boundary and the results of the receiver function analysis. The eastern edge has a northwest–southeast trend between the triple junction and 141.6°E, which changes to a north–south trend north of 34.7°N. The change in the subduction direction at 1–3 Ma might have resulted in the inflection of the eastern edge of the subducted Philippine Sea Plate. Second, we compared the subduction zone structure and hypocenter locations and the area of the Boso slow slip events. Most of the low-angle thrust-faulting earthquakes identified in this study occurred outside the areas of recurrent Boso slow slip events, which indicates that the slow slip area and regular low-angle thrust earthquakes are spatially separated in the offshore area. In addition, the slow slip areas are located only at the contact zone between the crustal parts of the North American Plate and the subducting Philippine Sea Plate. The localization of the slow slip events in the crust–crust contact zone off Boso is examined for the first time in this study. Finally, we detected a relatively low-velocity region in the mantle of the Philippine Sea Plate. The low-velocity mantle can be interpreted as serpentinized peridotite, which is also found in the Philippine Sea Plate prior to subduction. The serpentinized peridotite zone remains after the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate and is likely distributed over a wide area along the subducted slab.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Kajetan Chrapkiewicz ◽  
Monika Wilde-Piórko ◽  
Marcin Polkowski ◽  
Marek Grad

AbstractNon-linear inverse problems arising in seismology are usually addressed either by linearization or by Monte Carlo methods. Neither approach is flawless. The former needs an accurate starting model; the latter is computationally intensive. Both require careful tuning of inversion parameters. An additional challenge is posed by joint inversion of data of different sensitivities and noise levels such as receiver functions and surface wave dispersion curves. We propose a generic workflow that combines advantages of both methods by endowing the linearized approach with an ensemble of homogeneous starting models. It successfully addresses several fundamental issues inherent in a wide range of inverse problems, such as trapping by local minima, exploitation of a priori knowledge, choice of a model depth, proper weighting of data sets characterized by different uncertainties, and credibility of final models. Some of them are tackled with the aid of novel 1D checkerboard tests—an intuitive and feasible addition to the resolution matrix. We applied our workflow to study the south-western margin of the East European Craton. Rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion and P-wave receiver function data were gathered in the passive seismic experiment “13 BB Star” (2013–2016) in the area of the crust recognized by previous borehole and refraction surveys. Final models of S-wave velocity down to 300 km depth beneath the array are characterized by proximity in the parameter space and very good data fit. The maximum value in the mantle is higher by 0.1–0.2 km/s than reported for other cratons.


2014 ◽  
Vol 402 ◽  
pp. 138-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Ainsworth ◽  
Jay Pulliam ◽  
Harold Gurrola ◽  
Dominic Evanzia

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