New evidence of delamination in the Western Alboran Sea: Geodynamic evolution of the Alboran domain and its margins

The presence of continuous upper crustal blocks between the Iberian Betics and Moroccan Rif in the western and middle Alboran Sea, detected with tomography, can add new information about the lithosphere structure and geodynamic evolution in this region. A large volume of seismic data (P and S wave arrival times) has been collected for the period between 1 December 1988 and 31 December 2008 by 57 stations located in northern Morocco (National Institute of Geophysics, CNRST, Rabat), southern Portugal (Instituto de Meteorologia, Lisbon) and Spain (Instituto Geografico National, Madrid) and used to investigate the lithosphere in the western Alboran Sea region. We use a linearized inversion procedure comprising two steps: (1) finding the minimal 1-D model and simultaneous relocation of hypocenters and (2) determination of local velocity structure using linearized inversion. The model parameterization in this method assumes a continuous velocity field. The resolution tests indicate that the calculated images give near true structure imaged at 5 km depth for the Tanger peninsula, the Alhoceima region and southern Spain. At 15, 30 and 45 km depth we observe a near true structure imaged in northern Morocco, and southern Spain. At 60 and 100 km, southern Spain and the SW region of the Alboran Sea give a near true structure. The resulting tomographic image shows the presence of two upper crustal bodies (velocity 6.5 km/s) at 5–10 km depth between the Betics, Rif, western and central Alboran Sea. Low velocities at the base of these two bodies favor the presence of melt. This new evidence proves that the Tethysian ocean upper crust was not totally collapsed or broken down during the late Oligocene–early Miocene. These two blocks of upper crust were initially one block. The geodynamic process in the eastern of the Mediterranean is driven by slab rollback. The delamination process of the lithospheric mantle terminates with the proposed slab rollback in the western part of the Mediterranean. This can be explained by the removal of the major part of the lithosphere beneath the area, except in the SW part of the Alboran Sea where a small part of the lithospheric mantle is still attached and is extends and dips to SE beneath the Rif, slowly peeled back to the west. A second detached lithospheric mantle is located and extends to eastern part of the Rif and dips to the SE. The removal of lithosphere mantle from the base of the crust was replaced and heated by extrusion of asthenospheric material coming from depth to replace the part of crust detached. A combination of isostatic surface/topographic uplift and erosion induced a rapid exhumation and cooling of deep crustal rocks.     

New constraints on the evolution of the Gibraltar Arc from palaeomagnetic data of the Ceuta and Beni Bousera peridotites (Rif,northern Africa)

The Betic Cordillera and the Moroccan Rif together form one of the smallest and tightest orogenic arcs on Earth and almost completely close the Mediterranean to the west. For the explanation of the geodynamic evolution of the mountain belt, palaeomagnetic data that generally found clockwise block rotations in the Iberian and anticlockwise rotations in the Moroccan part of the mountain belt, have played a key role in recent works. This palaeomagnetic study has found new constraints on the rotations and timing of the peridotitic bodies outcropping in the key position at the westernmost margin of the mountain belt, in Ceuta and Beni Bousera (Rif, northern Africa).Detailed thermal demagnetization of 115 individually oriented samples from 14 sites was combined with rock magnetic and scanning electron microscopic experiments to analyze the magnetic mineralogy responsible for the remanences and the mechanisms and relative times of their acquisition. In Ceuta, up to three magnetic components, and in Beni Bousera, up to two magnetic components have been found, that are all to be interpreted as chemical remanent magnetizations (CRM). The data suggests the following succession of geodynamic events affecting the peridotites until recent times: (1) after their exhumation and subsequent cooling about 20 Ma ago, they recorded a characteristic remanent magnetization of both normal and reversed polarities, carried by (pseudo-)single-domain magnetite grains; (2) after their dismembering, the Ceuta peridotites were tilted southward by 22–34° about a horizontal or tilted axis (up to plunge 50°) with an azimuth of 72–145° and the Beni Bousera peridotites were rotated anticlockwise by 72.3 ± 12.1° about a vertical axis and (3) both recorded another magnetic signal of normal polarity only, carried by multi-domain magnetite grains; and finally (4) the Ceuta peridotites rotated anticlockwise by 19.7 ± 5.9° about a vertical axis.This study provides the first palaeomagnetic data for the Ceuta peridotites that, with their tilt and recent small net rotation, had a distinct geodynamic evolution from the large net rotations about vertical axes in Beni Bousera and Ronda (Betic Cordillera). Moreover, earlier palaemagnetic data for Beni Bousera is improved, as mixed polarities have been found in the older of the remanences for the first time, and its interpretation as a CRM changes the rotation timing that was proposed previously. The sequence of events exposed in this work are important constraints that need to be incorporated in any geodynamic model of the evolution of the Betic–Rifean mountain belt.     

Establishment of a Non-Permanent GPS Network to Monitor the Recent NE-SW Deformation in the Granada Basin (Betic Cordillera,Southern Spain)

The Granada Basin (Central Betic Cordillera), one of the most seismically active areas of the Iberian Peninsula, is currently subjected to NW-SE compression and NE-SW extension. The present day extension is accommodated by normal faults with various orientations but particularly with a NW-SE strike. At the surface, these active NW-SE normal faults are mainly concentrated on the NE part of the Basin. In this part we have selected a 15-km long segment where several active normal faults crop out. Using the marine Tortonian rocks as a reference, we have calculated a minimum extensional rate of 0.15-0.30 mm/year. The observed block rotation, the listric geometry of faults at depth and the distribution of seismicity over the whole Basin, indicate that this rate is a minimum value. In the framework of an interdisciplinary research project a non-permanent GPS-network has been established in the central sector of Betic Cordillera to monitor the crustal deformations. The first two observation campaigns were done in 1999 and 2000.     

Is there an active subduction beneath the Gibraltar orogenic arc? Constraints from Pliocene to present-day stress field

We present a new set of brittle microtectonic measurements carried out in the Pliocene and Quaternary rocks outcropping in several key sectors of the western Betic and Rif orogen, the so-called Gibraltar orogenic arc. This data set, along with available earthquake focal mechanisms and borehole breakouts, allowed us to compile the Pliocene and Quaternary stress map of this area. This map provides new constraints for tectonic models and the present-day tectonic activity of the proposed active eastward subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath the Gibraltar Arc and roll-back. The horizontal maximum compressive stress (S_Hmax) is NW-SE in the Betic Orogen and N-S/NNW-SSE in the southern Rif Cordillera. There is a significant consistency between S_Hmax and the displacement field deduced from GPS measurements with respect to the African plate: both appear to reflect the NW-SE convergence between the African and the European plates that is perturbed in the Rif. We propose that part of the eastern Rif behaves as a quasi-rigid block welded to the stable African plate. This block is bounded by important faults that localized most of the deformation disturbing the stress and surface displacement field. Pliocene to Quaternary N-S to NW-SE Africa-Europe plate convergence seem to be associated to the reorganization of the remnant Early Miocene subduction system in a continental–continental collision framework. Three-dimensional reconstruction of available seismic tomography plotted against the intermediate seismicity shows that only part of the old subduction system, whose orientation ranges from N20°E to N100°E, remains active: the portion ranging from N30°E to N40°E, orthogonal to the regional convergence.     

Local earthquakes seismic tomography in the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain)

A crustal tomographic image, from the surface down to 35 km depth beneath the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain), is obtained using data on local earthquakes recorded at stations from the National and Andalusian Seismic Networks. The velocity structure and the hypocentre locations are derived from the inversion of P first arrival times, using an iterative simultaneous inversion method. The reliability of the results is assessed using different control parameters. The inverted velocity field in the uppermost layers shows a significant lateral variability which reflects most of the large-scale geological features of the Betic Cordillera. Well determined local surface anomalies allow to constrain the location and geometry of the most prominent Neogene sedimentary basins. The upper crust is well resolved throughout the whole region, and is characterized by relatively high velocities in the Internal Betics and in the South Iberian Massif and lower velocities within the External Betics. A relatively well constrained event cluster displays a NNE–SSW trend, and outlines the contact zone between the Internal and the External domains. The middle and lower crustal levels show reliable results beneath the central part of the Betic Cordillera. High averaged velocities are obtained within the South Iberian and the Alboran domains, in contrast to a relatively low velocity anomaly which characterizes the boundary between them. These findings support the hypothesis of the lack of well differentiated crustal levels below the contact zone, while crustal layering is better defined beneath the Alboran and the Iberian domains.     

Deep seismic soundings in southern Spain

Summary In 1974 and 1975 deep seismic sounding experiments were carried out in the area of the Betic Cordillera in southern Spain. A network of crustal seismic profiles was established with shotpoints at sea close to Cádiz, Adra and Cartagena and on land at Alquife near Guadix. The lengths of the profiles range from 50 km near Alquife to 440 km for the main profile between Cádiz and Cartagena parallel to the strike of the Betic Cordillera. The main profile was supplemented by a reversed recording line close to the Mediterranean coast between Adra and Cartagena and another one perpendicular to the main tectonic strike from Adra towards the north. The first interpretation of the data indicates considerable variation in the crustal thickness. A preliminary inversion leads to a three-layered model of the crust. The mean compressional velocity is about 5.1 km/s down to a depth of 4 km. Below this the velocity is 6.13 km/s from 4 to 16 km where it increases to 7.14 km/s. TheP _n-velocity is 8.18 km/s. The crust-mantle boundary is reached at a depth of 27 km near Cartagena and lies 32 km deep near Adra, Underneath the gravity minimum of the Betic Cordillera the crust-mantle boundary is found at a depth of about 36 km. Below the Betic zone a pronounced zone of low velocity with 7.7 km/s seems to exist in the depth range from 40 to 60 km.Contribution No. 4, Grupo de Trabajo de Perfiles Sismicos, Comisión Española del Proyecto Geodinámico, C.S.I.C., Madrid, Spain.Contribution No. 139, Geophysical Institute, University of Karlsruhe, Hertzstrasse 16, D-75 Karlsruhe 21, Germany.Contribution No. 217, Institut de Physique du Globe, Université Paris VI, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75230 Paris Cedex 05, France.Contribution No. 11, Instituto y Observatorio de Marina, San Fernando (Cádiz), Spain.Contribution No. 163, Institute of Geophysics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.     

Geodetic constraints on active tectonics of the Western Mediterranean: Implications for the kinematics and dynamics of the Nubia-Eurasia plate boundary zone

We present GPS observations in Morocco and adjacent areas of Spain from 15 continuous (CGPS) and 31 survey-mode (SGPS) sites extending from the stable part of the Nubian plate to central Spain. We determine a robust velocity field for the W Mediterranean that we use to constrain models for the Iberia-Nubia plate boundary. South of the High Atlas Mountain system, GPS motions are consistent with Nubia plate motions from prior geodetic studies. We constrain shortening in the Atlas system to <1.5 mm/yr, 95% confidence level. North of the Atlas Mountains, the GPS velocities indicate Nubia motion with respect to Eurasia, but also a component of motion normal to the direction of Nubia-Eurasia motion, consisting of southward translation of the Rif Mountains in N Morocco at rates exceeding 5 mm/yr. This southward motion appears to be directly related to Miocene opening of the Alboran Sea. The Betic Mountain system north of the Alboran Sea is characterized by WNW motion with respect to Eurasia at ～1–2 mm/yr, paralleling Nubia-Eurasia relative motion. In addition, sites located in the Betics north of the southerly moving Rif Mountains also indicate a component of southerly motion with respect to Eurasia. We interpret this as indicating that deformation associated with Nubia-Eurasia plate motion extends into the southern Betics, but also that the Betic system may be affected by the same processes that are causing southward motion of the Rif Mountains south of the Alboran Sea. Kinematic modeling indicates that plate boundary geometries that include a boundary through the Straits of Gibraltar are most compatible with the component of motion in the direction of relative plate motion, but that two additional blocks (Alboran-Rif block, Betic Mountain block), independent of both Nubia and Eurasia are needed to account for the motions of the Rif and Betic Mountains normal to the direction of relative plate motion. We speculate that the southward motions of the Alboran-Rif and Betic blocks may be related to mantle flow, possibly induced by southward rollback of the subducted Nubian plate beneath the Alboran Sea and Rif Mountains.     

Siberian traps: Hypotheses and seismology data

Siberian traps are the result of huge basalt eruptions which took place about 250 Ma ago over a vast territory of Siberia. The genesis of Siberian traps is attributed to a mantle plume with a center in the region of Iceland or beneath the central Urals in terms of their present coordinates. The eruption mechanism is associated with delamination—replacement of the mantle lithosphere by the deep magma material. The receiver function analysis of the records from the Norilsk seismic station (NRIL) allows comparing these hypotheses with the factual data on the depth structure of the region of Siberian traps. The S-wave velocity section place the seismic lithosphere/asthenosphere boundary (LAB) at a depth of 155–190 km, commensurate with the data for the other cratons. The mantle lithosphere has a high S-wave velocity characteristic of cratons (4.6–4.8 km/s instead of the typical value 4.5 km/s). The seismic boundary, which is located at a depth around 410 km beneath the continents is depressed by ~10 km in the region of the NRIL station. The phase diagram of olivine/wadsleyite transformation accounts for this depression by a 50–100°С increase in temperature. At the depths of 350–400 km, the S-wave velocity drops due to partial melting. A new reduction in the S-wave velocities is observed at a depth of 460 km. The similar anomalies (deepening of the 410-km seismic boundary and low shear wave velocity at depths of 350–400 and 460–500 km, respectively) were previously revealed in the other regions of the Meso-Cenozoic volcanism. In the case of a differently directed drift of the Siberian lithosphere and underlying mantle at depths down to 500 km, these anomalies are barely accountable. In particular, if the mantle at a depth ranging from 200 to 500 km is fixed, the anomalies should be observed at the original locations where they emerged 250 Ma ago, i.e. thousands of km from the Siberian traps. Our seismic data suggest that despite the low viscosity of the asthenosphere, the mantle drift at depths ranging from 200 to 500 km is correlated with the drift of the Siberian lithospheric plate. Furthermore, the position of the mantle plume beneath the Urals is easier to reconcile with the seismic data than its position beneath Iceland because of the Siberian traps being less remote from the Urals.     

Plio-Quaternary paleostresses in the Atlantic passive margin of the Moroccan Meseta: Influence of the Central Rif escape tectonics related to Eurasian-African plate convergence

The Atlantic Moroccan Meseta margin is affected by far field recent tectonic stresses. The basement belongs to the variscan orogen and was deformed by hercynian folding and metamorphism followed by a post-Permian erosional stage, producing the flat paleorelief of the region. Tabular Mesozoic and Mio-Plio-Quaternary deposits locally cover the Meseta, which has undergone recent uplift, while north of Rabat the subsidence continues in the Gharb basin, constituting the foreland basin of the Rif Cordillera.The Plio-Quaternary sedimentary cover of the Moroccan Meseta, mainly formed by aeolian and marine terraces deposits, is affected by brittle deformations (joints and small-scale faults) that evidence that this region – considered up to date as stable – is affected by the far field stresses. Striated faults are recognized in the oldest Plio-Quaternary deposits and show strike-slip and normal kinematics, while joints affect up to the most recent sediments.Paleostress may be sorted into extensional, only affecting Rabat sector, and three main compressive groups deforming whole the region: (1) ENE–WSW to ESE–WNW compression; (2) NNW–SSE to NE–SW compression and (3) NNE–SSW compression. These stresses can be attributed mainly to the NW–SE oriented Eurasian-African plate convergence in the western Mediterranean and the escape toward the SW of the Rif Cordillera. Local paleostress deviations may be related to basement fault reactivation. These new results reveal the tectonic instability during Plio-Quaternary of the Moroccan Meseta margin in contrast to the standard passive margins, generally considered stable.     

3-D crustal structure in the Agadir region (SW High Atlas,Morocco)

The 1960 Agadir earthquake (Mw 6.0) constitutes the most damaging earthquake event in Morocco. With the expansion of seismic networks during the last decade in Morocco, new seismic data have been collected in this region. The P and S arrivals at 19 stations located in Southern Morocco are used to investigate the lithosphere in the Agadir region. In this study, we use a linearized inversion procedure comprising two steps: (1) finding the minimal 1-D model and simultaneous relocation of hypocentres and (2) determination of local velocity structure using linearized inversion. The model parameterization in this method assumes a continuous velocity field. The resolution tests indicate that the calculated images give near true structure for the studied region from 0- to 45-km depth. The results show that the total crust thickness varies from 30 to 40 km in SW High Atlas and confirm the modest crustal tectonic shortening and thickening in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The inferred geological structure reconstructed from the calculated image illustrates the existence of fault-related folding. The evidence for coseismic ruptures in 1960 on the Kasbah anticline combined with the 1960 earthquake hypocentre located in the tomographic image determines the seismic potential of the active fault and related fold. The resulting tomographic image shows a high-velocity anomalies that could be associated with the location of deep active fault (10–30 km) associated with the fold structure. In the South Atlas, theses anomalies could be associated with the South atlas thrust front structure.     

Shallow Seismic Velocity Structure of the Betic Cordillera (Southern Spain) from Modelling of Rayleigh Wave Dispersion

A detailed dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves generated by local earthquakes and occasionally by blasts that occurred in southern Spain, was undertaken to obtain the shear-wave velocity structure of the region at shallow depth. Our database includes seismograms generated by 35 seismic events that were recorded by 15 single-component short-period stations from 1990 to 1995. All these events have focal depths less than 10 km and body-wave magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0, and they were all recorded at distances between 40 and 300 km from the epicentre. We analysed a total of 90 source-station Rayleigh-wave paths. The collected data were processed by standard digital filtering techniques to obtain Rayleigh-wave group-velocity dispersion measurements. The path-averaged group velocities vary from 1.12 to 2.25 km/s within the 1.0-6.0 s period interval. Then, using a stochastic inversion approach we obtained 1-D shear-wave velocity–depth models across the study area, which were resolved to a depth of circa 5 km. The inverted shear-wave velocities range approximately between 1.0 and 3.8 km/s with a standard deviation range of 0.05–0.16 km/s, and show significant variations from region to region. These results were combined to produce 3-D images via volumetric modelling and data visualization. We present images that show different shear velocity patterns for the Betic Cordillera. Looking at the velocity distribution at various depths and at vertical sections, we discuss of the study area in terms of subsurface structure and S-wave velocity distribution (low velocity channels, basement depth, etc.) at very shallow depths (0–5 km). Our results characterize the region sufficiently and lead to a correlation of shear-wave velocity with the different geological units features.     

The Lithosphere-Asthenosphere System in the Calabrian Arc and Surrounding Seas – Southern Italy

A fairly detailed structural model of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system (thickness, S- and P-wave velocities of the crust and of the uppermost mantle layers) has been defined in the Calabrian Arc region (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Calabria and the northwestern part of the Ionian Sea) in Southern Italy using seismic data from literature as a priori constraints of the nonlinear inversion of surface-wave data. The main features identified by this study are: (1) A very shallow (less then 10 km deep) crust-mantle transition in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea and a very low v_s just below a very thin lid, in correspondence of the submarine volcanic bodies Magnaghi, Marsili and Vavilov, while the v_s in the lid is quite high in the area that separates Marsili from Magnaghi-Vavilov; (2) a shallow and very low v_s layer in the uppermost mantle in the areas of the Aeolian Islands, Vesuvius, Phlegraean Fields and Ischia, which represents their shallow-mantle magma source; (3) a thickened continental crust and lithospheric doubling in Calabria; (4) a crust about 25-km thick and a mantle velocity profile versus depth consistent with the presence of a continental rifted lithosphere, now thermally relaxed, in the investigated part of the Ionian Sea; (5) the subduction towards northwest of the Ionian lithosphere below the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea; (6) the subduction of the Adriatic/Ionian lithosphere underneath the Vesuvius and Phlegraean Fields.     

Crust and upper mantle structure of East Asia from ambient noise and earthquake surface wave tomography

The complex tectonic background of East Asia makes it an ideal region for investigating the evolution of the continental lithosphere, for which high-resolution lithospheric structural models are essential. In this study, we measured Rayleigh-wave phase-velocity dispersion curves at periods of 10–120 s and group velocity dispersion curves at periods of 10–140 s using event records from more than 1,000 seismic stations in and around China. By jointly inverting new and previously published dispersion data from ambient noise and earthquakes, we developed a high-resolution shear-wave velocity model down to a depth of ～300 km beneath East Asia. Our model revealed heterogeneous lithospheric structures beneath East Asia, and allowed us to investigate the velocity structure of the entire lithosphere. We also derived crustal and lithospheric thickness models from the three-dimensional (3D) shear-wave model, revealing strong spatial heterogeneity and a general thinning trend of lithospheric thickness from west to east across the study region. Overall, our models reveal important lithospheric features beneath East Asia and provide a valuable baseline dataset for understanding continental-scale dynamics and evolution.     

青藏高原东北缘岩石圈三维密度结构

综合重力观测资料和地震波走时资料反演了青藏高原东北缘岩石圈三维密度结构,并对该区岩石圈结构及动力学特征进行了讨论.首先利用收集到的P波近震和远震走时数据进行地震层析成像,得到研究区岩石圈三维P波速度结构.然后利用速度-密度经验关系式,将速度扰动转化为密度扰动建立研究区三维初始密度模型.最后利用分离的布格重力异常反演得到了岩石圈三维密度结构.反演结果表明:青藏高原东北缘地壳密度结构特征有利于地震孕育发生和地壳物质侧向流动;地壳内,密度异常等值线走向与地表断裂走向基本一致,进入地幔后,密度异常等值线走向发生了顺时针旋转,这表明青藏高原东北缘地壳和地幔具有不同的构造运动模式,暗示该区可能发生了壳幔解耦;80~100 km深度上,P波速度异常较密度异常明显偏低,推测该区可能发生了部分熔融或者岩石含水量的增加;印度板块俯冲和周围坚硬块体阻挡联合作用,使得青藏高原东北缘形成了强大的区域构造应力场,并导致深部软流圈热物质上涌,为该区壳幔解耦、部分熔融和P波速度降低创造了条件.     

中国青藏高原深部地球物理探测与地球动力学研究(1958-2004)

经过半个多世纪的努力,中国学者在青藏高原进行的地壳上地幔地球物理探测工作取得了巨大进展. 累计完成长约45000km的深部地球物理探测工作,取得了许多科学数据,为探讨高原地壳上地幔结构、隆升机制和动力学研究奠定了基础. 为比较全面反映中国学者多年来的工作成果,作者广泛收集资料,总结了中国学者在青藏高原地壳上地幔地球物理探测工作程度,并按照方法分类绘制了系列工作程度图. 文中分别对地壳结构、上地幔的横向不均匀性、岩石圈的电性结构、青藏高原隆升机制、青藏高原地球动力学模型等几个方面所取得的主要成果做了概略的评述. 已有资料表明：青藏高原的莫霍面埋深变化较大,且在几条重要缝合带莫霍面两侧都有断错;根据目前的探测结果,高原在20±5km埋深范围内普遍存在壳内低速高导层,速度一般为56～58km/s,电阻率约为1～10Ω·m,厚度一般为5～10km,但横向分布不连续. 低速层与高导层的深度、厚度在趋势上一致,但不十分吻合.天然地震的研究结果表明,组成高原各个地块内部的地震各向异性方向大致相同,各地块的分界处各向异性方向往往有明显的变化;虽然对高原隆升机制还存在不同的看法,但至少认为高原是多期隆升、多种机制共同作用的结果这一点已达成共识. 综合已有的地球物理调查成果,结合地质地球化学资料建立的高原地球动力学模型,形象地表达出青藏高原岩石圈的双向挤压变形模式. 这些工作为研究青藏高原隆升和变形机制提供有价值的信息.     

南北地震带北段的远震P波层析成像研究

本文利用"中国地震科学台阵"探测项目在南北地震带北段布设的678个流动地震台站在2013年10月至2015年4月期间记录到的远震波形数据,经过波形互相关拾取到473个远震事件共130309条P波走时残差数据,通过远震层析成像研究获得了该区(30°N-44°N,96°E-110°E)下方0.5°×0.5°的P波速度扰动图像.结果显示,研究区下方P波速度结构显示强烈的不均一性和显著的分区、分块特征.岩石圈速度结构具有显著的东西差异:祁连、西秦岭和松潘甘孜地块组成的青藏东北缘地区显示明显的低速异常,而属于克拉通性质的鄂尔多斯地块和四川盆地则显示高速异常,表明东部克拉通块体对青藏高原物质的东向挤出起到了强烈的阻挡作用.阿拉善地块显示出弱高速和局部弱低速的异常并存的特征.阿拉善地块西部显示低速异常,而东部与鄂尔多斯相邻的地区显示高速异常,可能表明该地区的岩石圈的变形主要受到青藏高原东北缘的挤压作用.在鄂尔多斯和四川盆地之间的秦岭下方100~250 km深度上表现为明显的低速异常,表明该处可能存在软流圈物质的运移通道.鄂尔多斯北部的河套裂陷盆地下方在100~500 km深度内低速异常表现明显,说明该区有深部热物质上涌且至少来源于地幔过渡带.青藏东北缘上地幔显示低速异常且地幔过渡带中出现明显的高速异常,这种结构模式暗示了在青藏高原东北缘可能发生了岩石圈拆沉作用,而高速异常体可能是拆沉的岩石圈地幔.     

Upper mantle structure in the ocean-continent transition zone: Kamchatka

We consider results from modeling the crustal and upper mantle velocity structure in Kamchatka by seismic tomography and compare these with gravity data and present-day tectonics. We found a well-pronounced (in the physical fields) vertical and lateral variation for the upper mantle and found that it is controlled by fault tectonics. Not only are individual lithosphere blocks moving along faults, but also parts of the Benioff zone. The East Kamchatka volcanic belt (EKVB) is confined to the asthenospheric layer (the asthenosphere lens) at a depth of 70–80 km; this lens is 10–20 km thick and seismic velocity in it is lower by 2–4%. The top of the asthenosphere lens has the shape of a dome uplift beneath the Klyuchevskoi group of volcanoes and its thickness is appreciably greater; overall, the upper mantle in this region is appreciably stratified. A low-velocity heterogeneity (asthenolith) at least 100 km thick has been identified beneath the Central Kamchatka depression; we have determined its extent in the upper mantle and how it is related to the EKVB heterogeneities. Gravity data suggest the development of a rift structure under the Sredinnyi Range volcanic belt. The Benioff zone was found to exhibit velocity inhomogeneity; the anomalous zones that have been identified within it are related to asthenosphere inhomogeneities in the continental and oceanic blocks of the mantle.     

Seismicity pattern of the Betic Cordillera(southern Spain) derived from the fractal properties of earthquakes and faults

Several studies on earthquake occurrence and associated faulting have demonstrated that both phenomena have a scale-invariant behavior which can be analyzed by means of a set of non-integer dimensions(Dq) describing their fractal properties and the calculation of multi-fractal spectra.It is the case that the behavior of these spectra is asymptotic at the ends of the variation interval of q,which is a real number that enters into the definition of the partition function of the dataset.The difference between the extreme values,called multi-fractal spectrum slope,is used to investigate the heterogeneity of the spatial distribution of earthquakes and fault systems.In this paper we focus on the Betic Cordillera,southeastern Spain,which is commonly considered the contact between the Eurasian and African plates and has an important seismic activity in the context of the Iberian Peninsula.Some of the most conspicuous Iberian earthquakes,such as the 1829 mb6.3 Torrevieja and the 1884 mb6.1 Alhama de Granada earthquakes occurred in this mountain range and both reached intensity X.The present work implies a new analysis based on the slope of multi-fractal spectra and referred to the historical seismicity of the region,specifically b-value(frequency distribution of earthquakes respect to magnitude),epicentral location,seismic energy and faulting.On this basis we propose a seismotectonic zonation that is contrasted with the stress state and the geodynamical evolution of the Betic Cordillera.     

Tectonic setting of the recent damaging seismic series in the Southeastern Betic Cordillera,Spain

In this work we analyze the tectonic setting of the recent damaging seismic series occurred in the Internal Zones of the eastern Betic Cordillera (SE Spain) and surrounding areas, the tectonic region where took place the 11th May 2011 Mw 5.2 Lorca earthquake. We revisit and make a synthesis of the seven largest and damaging seismic series occurred from 1984 to 2011. We analyze their seismotectonic setting, and their geological sources under the light of recent advances in the knowledge on active faults, neotectonics, seismotectonics and stress regime, with special attention focused on the Lorca Earthquake. These seismic series are characterized by two types of focal mechanisms, produced mainly by two sets of active faults, NNW–SSE to NNE–SSW small (no larger than 20–30 km) extensional faults with some strike slip component, and E–W to NE–SW large strike slip faults (more than 50 km long) with some compressional component (oblique slip faults). The normal fault earthquakes related to the smaller faults are dominant in the interior of large crustal tectonic blocks that are bounded by the large E–W to NE–SW strike-slip faults. The strike slip earthquakes are associated to the reactivation of segments or intersegment regions of the large E–W to NE–SW faults bounding those crustal tectonic blocks. Most of the seismic series studied in this work can be interpreted as part of the background seismicity that occurs within the crustal blocks that are strained under a transpressional regime driven by the major strike slip shear corridors bounding the blocks. The seismotectonic analysis and the phenomenology of the studied series indicate that it is usual the occurrence of damaging compound earthquakes of M  \(\sim \)  5.0 associated with triggering processes driven by coseismic stress transfer. These processes mainly occur in the seismic series generated by NNW–SSE to NNE–SSW faults. These mechanical interaction processes may induce a higher frequency of occurrence of this kind of earthquakes than considered in traditional probabilistic seismic hazard assessments and it should be taken into account in future seismic hazard assessments.     

Location Performance and Detection Threshold of the Spanish National Seismic Network

Spain is a low-to-moderate seismicity area with relatively low seismic hazard. However, several strong shallow earthquakes have shaken the country causing casualties and extensive damage. Regional seismicity is monitored and surveyed by means of the Spanish National Seismic Network, maintenance and control of which are entrusted to the Instituto Geográfico Nacional. This array currently comprises 120 seismic stations distributed throughout Spanish territory (mainland and islands). Basically, we are interested in checking the noise conditions, reliability, and seismic detection capability of the Spanish network by analyzing the background noise level affecting the array stations, errors in hypocentral location, and detection threshold, which provides knowledge about network performance. It also enables testing of the suitability of the velocity model used in the routine process of earthquake location. To perform this study we use a method that relies on P and S wave travel times, which are computed by simulation of seismic rays from virtual seismic sources placed at the nodes of a regular grid covering the study area. Given the characteristics of the seismicity of Spain, we drew maps for M _L magnitudes 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0, at a focal depth of 10 km and a confidence level 95 %. The results relate to the number of stations involved in the hypocentral location process, how these stations are distributed spatially, and the uncertainties of focal data (errors in origin time, longitude, latitude, and depth). To assess the extent to which principal seismogenic areas are well monitored by the network, we estimated the average error in the location of a seismic source from the semiaxes of the ellipsoid of confidence by calculating the radius of the equivalent sphere. Finally, the detection threshold was determined as the magnitude of the smallest seismic event detected at least by four stations. The northwest of the peninsula, the Pyrenees, especially the westernmost segment, the Betic Cordillera, and Tenerife Island are the best-monitored zones. Origin time and focal depth are data that are far from being constrained by regional events. The two Iberian areas with moderate seismicity and the highest seismic hazard, the Pyrenees and Betic Cordillera, and the northwestern quadrant of the peninsula, are the areas wherein the focus of an earthquake is determined with an approximate error of 3 km. For M _L 2.5 and M _L 3.0 this error is common for almost the whole peninsula and the Canary Islands. In general, errors in epicenter latitude and longitude are small for near-surface earthquakes, increasing gradually as the depth increases, but remaining close to 5 km even at a depth of 60 km. The hypocentral depth seems to be well constrained to a depth of 40 km beneath the zones with the highest density of stations, with an error of less than 5 km. The M _L magnitude detection threshold of the network is approximately 2.0 for most of Spain and still less, almost 1.0, for the western sector of the Pyrenean region and the Canary Islands.