Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure beneath the Indonesian region

We present the P-wave seismic tomography image of the mantle to a depth of 1200 km beneath the Indonesian region. The inversion method is applied to a dataset of 118,203 P-wave travel times of local and teleseismic events taken from ISC bulletins. Although the resolution is sufficient for detailed discussion in only a limited part of the study region, the results clarify the general tectonic framework in this region and indicate a possible remnant seismic slab in the lower mantle.

Structures beneath the Philippine Islands and the Molucca Sea region are well resolved and high-velocity zones corresponding to the slabs of the Molucca Sea and Philippine Sea plates are well delineated. Seismic zones beneath the Manila, Negros and Cotabato trenches are characterized by high-velocity anomalies, although shallow structures were not resolved. The Molucca Sea collision zone and volcanic zones of the Sangihe and Philippine arcs are dominated by low-velocity anomalies. The Philippine Sea slab subducts beneath the Philippine Islands at least to a depth of 200 km and may reach depths of 450 km. The southern end of the slab extends at least to about 6°N near southern Mindanao. In the south, the two opposing subducting slabs of the Molucca Sea plate are clearly defined by the two opposing high-velocity zones. The eastward dipping slab can be traced about 400 km beneath the Halmahera arc and may extend as far north as about 5°N. Unfortunately, resolution is not sufficient to reveal detailed structures at the boundary region between the Halmahera and Philippine Sea slabs. The westward dipping slab may subduct to the lower mantle although its extent at depth is not well resolved. This slab trends N-S from about 10°N in the Philippine Islands to northern Sulawesi. A NE-SW-trending high-velocity zone is found in the lower mantle beneath the Molucca Sea region. This high-velocity zone may represent a remnant of the former subduction zone which formed the Sulawesi arc during the Miocene.

The blocks along the Sunda and Banda arcs are less well resolved than those in the Philippine Islands and the Molucca Sea region. Nevertheless, overall structures can be inferred. The bowl-shaped distribution of the seismicity of the Banda arc is clearly defined by a horseshoe-shaped high-velocity zone. The tomographic image shows that the Indian oceanic slab subducts to a depth deeper than 300 km i.e., deeper than its seismicity, beneath Andaman Islands and Sumatra and may be discontinuous in northern Sumatra. Along southern Sumatra, Java and the islands to the east, the slab appears to be continuous and can be traced down to at least a depth of the deepest seismicity, where it appears to penetrate into the lower mantle.     

Configuration of the subducting Philippine Sea slab in the eastern part of southwestern Japan with seismic array and Hi-net data

It is important to know the shape of a subducting slab in order to understand the mechanisms of inter-plate earthquakes and the process of subduction. Seismicity data and converted phases have been used to detect plate boundaries. The configuration of the Philippine Sea slab has been obtained at the western part of southwestern Japan. At the eastern part of southwestern Japan, however, the configuration of the Philippine Sea slab has not yet been confirmed. A spatially high-density seismic network makes it possible to detect the boundaries of the Philippine Sea slab. We used a spatially high-density temporal seismic array in the area. The configuration of the Philippine Sea plate is obtained at the eastern part of southwestern Japan using the temporal seismic array and permanent seismic network data and comparing the seismic structure obtained from the results of refraction surveys. The configuration of the Philippine Sea plate obtained by this study does not bend sharply compared to previous models obtained from receiver function analyses. We delineated the upper boundary of the slab to a depth of about 45 km. The weak image of the boundary, which corresponds to the upper mantle reflector beneath the source area of the 2000 Western Tottori earthquake, was detected using the spatially dense array.     

Configuration of subducting Philippine Sea plate and crustal structure in the central Japan region

A seismic experiment with six explosive sources and 391 seismic stations was conducted in August 2001 in the central Japan region. The crustal velocity structure for the central part of Japan and configuration of the subducting Philippine Sea plate were revealed. A large lateral variation of the thickness of the sedimentary layer was observed, and the P-wave velocity values below the sedimentary layer obtained were 5.3–5.8 km/s. P-wave velocity values for the lower part of upper crust and lower crust were estimated to be 6.0–6.4 and 6.6–6.8 km/s, respectively. The reflected wave from the upper boundary of the subducting Philippine Sea plate was observed on the record sections of several shots. The configuration of the subducting Philippine Sea slab was revealed for depths of 20–35 km. The dip angle of the Philippine Sea plate was estimated to be 26° for a depth range of about 20–26 km. Below this depth, the upper boundary of the subducting Philippine Sea plate is distorted over a depth range of 26–33 km. A large variation of the reflected-wave amplitude with depth along the subducting plate was observed. At a depth of about 20–26 km, the amplitude of the reflected wave is not large, and is explained by the reflected wave at the upper boundary of the subducting oceanic crust. However, the reflected wave from reflection points deeper than 26 km showed a large amplitude that cannot be explained by several reliable velocity models. Some unique seismic structures have to be considered to explain the observed data. Such unique structures will provide important information to know the mechanism of inter-plate earthquakes.     

Moho depth variation beneath southwestern Japan revealed from the velocity structure based on receiver function inversion

The Philippine Sea plate is subducting under the Eurasian plate beneath the Chugoku-Shikoku region, southwestern Japan. We have constructed depth contours for the continental and oceanic Mohos derived from the velocity structure based on receiver function inversion. Receiver functions were calculated using teleseismic waveforms recorded by the high-density seismograph network in southwestern Japan. In order to determine crustal velocity structure, we first improved the linearized time-domain receiver function inversion method. The continental Moho is relatively shallow ( 30 km) at the coastline of the Sea of Japan and at the Seto Inland Sea, and becomes deeper–greater than 40 km–around 35°N and 133.8°E. Near the Seto Inland Sea, a low-velocity layer of thickness 10 km lies under the continental Moho. This low-velocity layer corresponds to the subducting oceanic crust of the Philippine Sea plate. The oceanic Moho continues to descend from south to northwest and exhibits complicated ridge and valley features. The oceanic Moho runs around 25 km beneath the Pacific coast and 45 km beneath the Seto Inland Sea, and it extends to at least to 34.5°N. The depth variation of the Moho discontinuities is in good qualitative agreement with the concept of isostasy. From the configurations of both the continental and oceanic Mohos, we demonstrate that the continental lower crust and the subducting oceanic crust overlap beneath the southern and central part of Shikoku and that a mantle wedge may exist beneath the western and eastern part of Shikoku. The southern edge of the overlapping region coincides with the downdip limit of the slip area of a megathrust earthquake.     

Deep slab subduction and dehydration and their geodynamic consequences: Evidence from seismology and mineral physics

We present new pieces of evidence from seismology and mineral physics for the existence of low-velocity zones in the deep part of the upper mantle wedge and the mantle transition zone that are caused by fluids from the deep subduction and deep dehydration of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs under western Pacific and East Asia. The Pacific slab is subducting beneath the Japan Islands and Japan Sea with intermediate-depth and deep earthquakes down to 600 km depth under the East Asia margin, and the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under East China. The western edge of the stagnant Pacific slab is roughly coincident with the NE–SW Daxing'Anling-Taihangshan gravity lineament located west of Beijing, approximately 2000 km away from the Japan Trench. The upper mantle above the stagnant slab under East Asia forms a big mantle wedge (BMW). Corner flow in the BMW and deep slab dehydration may have caused asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, continental rift systems, and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia. The Philippine Sea slab has subducted down to the mantle transition zone depth under Western Japan and Ryukyu back-arc, though the seismicity within the slab occurs only down to 200–300 km depths. Combining with the corner flow in the mantle wedge, deep dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab has affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under Southwest Japan. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent small mantle plumes, or hot upwelling associated with the deep slab subduction. Slab dehydration may also take place after a continental plate subducts into the mantle.     

Deep slab subduction and dehydration and their geodynamic consequences: Evidence from seismology and mineral physics

We present new pieces of evidence from seismology and mineral physics for the existence of low-velocity zones in the deep part of the upper mantle wedge and the mantle transition zone that are caused by fluids from the deep subduction and deep dehydration of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs under western Pacific and East Asia. The Pacific slab is subducting beneath the Japan Islands and Japan Sea with intermediate-depth and deep earthquakes down to 600 km depth under the East Asia margin, and the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under East China. The western edge of the stagnant Pacific slab is roughly coincident with the NE–SW Daxing'Anling-Taihangshan gravity lineament located west of Beijing, approximately 2000 km away from the Japan Trench. The upper mantle above the stagnant slab under East Asia forms a big mantle wedge (BMW). Corner flow in the BMW and deep slab dehydration may have caused asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, continental rift systems, and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia. The Philippine Sea slab has subducted down to the mantle transition zone depth under Western Japan and Ryukyu back-arc, though the seismicity within the slab occurs only down to 200–300 km depths. Combining with the corner flow in the mantle wedge, deep dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab has affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under Southwest Japan. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent small mantle plumes, or hot upwelling associated with the deep slab subduction. Slab dehydration may also take place after a continental plate subducts into the mantle.     

Seismic velocity discontinuities in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the Kanto district, central Japan, identified from receiver function imaging and repeating earthquake activity

We constructed vertical cross-sections of depth-converted receiver function images to estimate the seismic velocity structure of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the Kanto district, central Japan. Repeating earthquake data for the plate boundary were also used to estimate geometries of the subducting Philippine Sea plate and the subducting Pacific plate. As a result, we present images of some major seismic discontinuities. The upper boundary of the Pacific plate dips to the northwest in northern Kanto and to the west–southwest in southern Kanto with some undulations. On the other hand, the upper boundary of the Philippine Sea plate as a whole dips to the northwest. However, it is concave to the northeast in the southern Boso peninsula. We suggest that the low-velocity mantle wedge may be indicated on the top of both subducting plates. Plate thickness gradually decreases to the northeast. The northeastern end of the Philippine Sea plate is interpreted to be at depths of 45–90 km. The Moho discontinuity in the overriding plate is deeper than 25 km in the northern Kanto. It contacts the subducting Philippine Sea plate in the southwestern part near 35.8°N.     

Joint hypocentre determination of intermediate depth earthquakes in Fiordland, New Zealand

Relocation of well observed, intermediate depth earthquakes in the Fiordland region by the method of joint hypocentre determination has revealed some fine structure in the Benioff zone. The earthquakes occur in three groups. The central group is the largest and occupies a planar volume less than 15 km thick striking N40°E and dipping at 80°. The deepest events in the region, at depths of 150 km, occur at the northeast end of this group. The two smaller groups lie to the northeast and to the south of the main group. The focal mechanism of the majority of the main group is that of thrust faulting. We suggest that the main group lies within a section of Indian plate lithosphere which has been broken off and rotated into its observed position and that the northern edge of the unbroken subducted Indian plate is indicated by the southern group. We suggest that the small northeastern group has quite a different tectonic origin and is similar to a group of earthquakes further north which are at a similar distance from, and presumably related to, the Alpine Fault.Use has also been made of the travel-time information which is a by-product of the joint hypocentre method to construct upper mantle velocity models for P and S waves in the South Island. The features of this model are a high-velocity region in the vicinity of the Benioff zone, and a subcrustal zone of high seismic velocities running east-west across the center of the South Island in an otherwise normal mantle.     

Subsurface imaging,TAIGER experiments and tectonic models of Taiwan

The seismicity, deformation rates and associated erosion in the Taiwan region clearly demonstrate that plate tectonic and orogenic activities are at a high level. Major geologic units can be neatly placed in the plate tectonic context, albeit critical mapping in specific areas is still needed, but the key processes involved in the building of the island remain under discussion. Of the two plates in the vicinity of Taiwan, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) is oceanic in its origin while the Eurasian Plate (EUP) is comprised partly of the Asian continental lithosphere and partly of the transitional lithosphere of the South China Sea basin. It is unanimously agreed that the collision of PSP and EU is the cause of the Taiwan orogeny, but several models of the underlying geological processes have been proposed, each with its own evolutionary history and implied subsurface tectonics.TAIGER (TAiwan Integrated GEodynamics Research) crustal- and mantle-imaging experiments recently made possible a new round of testing and elucidation. The new seismic tomography resolved structures under and offshore of Taiwan to a depth of about 200 km. In the upper mantle, the steeply east-dipping high velocity anomalies from southern to central Taiwan are clear, but only the extreme southern part is associated with seismicity; toward the north the seismicity disappears. The crustal root under the Central Range is strongly asymmetrical; using 7.5 km/s as a guide, the steep west-dipping face on the east stands in sharp contrast to a gradual east-dipping face on the west. A smaller root exists under the Coastal Range or slightly to the east of it. Between these two roots lies a well delineated high velocity rise spanning the length from Hualien to Taitung. The 3-D variations in crustal and mantle structures parallel to the trend of the island are closely correlated with the plate tectonic framework of Taiwan. The crust is thickest in the central Taiwan collision zone, and although it thins toward the south, the crust is over 30 km thick over the subduction in the south; in northern Taiwan, the northward subducting PSP collides with Taiwan and the crust thins under northern Taiwan where the subducting indenter reaches 50 km in depth. The low Vp/Vs ratio of around 1.6 at a mid-crustal depth of 25 km in the Central Range indicates that current temperatures could exceed 700 °C. The remarkable thickening of the crust under the Central Range, its rapid uplift without significant seismicity, its deep exhumation and its thermal state contribute to make it the core of orogenic activities on Taiwan Island.The expanded network during the TAIGER deployment captured broadband seismic data yielding enhanced S-splitting results with mainly SKS/SKKS data. The polarization directions of the fast S-waves follow very closely the structural trends of the island, supporting the concept of a vertically coherent Taiwan orogeny in the outer few hundred kilometers of the Earth.     

Stress field in the Ryukyu–Kyushu Wadati–Benioff zone by inversion of earthquake focal mechanisms

The study addresses the space distribution of the stress field in the Kyushu–Ryukyu Wadati–Benioff zone based on homogeneous data of earthquake focal mechanisms and the inverse technique by Gephart and Forsyth [J. Geophys. Res. 89 (1984) 9305]. The used data set consists of 148 Harvard CMT solutions and 22 earthquake focal mechanisms listed in previous studies. The stress field parameters are determined for 0–40, 41–100 and h>100 km depth ranges. The top 100-km layer of the Wadati–Benioff zone (WBZ) is characterized by strike normal maximum compression σ₁ and steeper than the slab minimum compression σ₃, the last indicating for unbalanced slab pull force. The Tokara channel ‘divides’ the subduction into two parts of different stress regime at depth greater than 100 km. To the south of the channel the slab is under slab parallel σ₁ and slab normal σ₃ while its northern part, beneath Kyushu, is under slab parallel extension and slab normal compression. The results of recent studies on the regional velocity structure and geochemistry of the volcanic lava indicate that the most plausible reason for the observed stress field difference below 100 km in the northern and rest part of the arc is the presence of hot low viscosity upper mantle west of Kyushu.The results of this study indicate that the forces involved in the contemporary subduction dynamics in the Ryukyu–Kyushu Wadati–Benioff zone are related to the convergence between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian plate, the trench suction force, slab pull, the slab anchor force and, in the southern-central part of the arc, mantle resistance.     

Significant crustal structural variation across the Chaochou Fault, southern Taiwan: New tectonic implications for convergent plate boundary

The Chaochou Fault, a major geological boundary in southern Taiwan is considered to be a part of the convergent plate boundary between the Eurasia Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. We applied the Common Conversion Point stacking technique to teleseismic radial receiver functions and obtained Moho variation and crustal structure across the Chaochou Fault. In the Eurasia Plate to its west, the Moho depth is about 37 km and the crust is subducting to the east beneath the Philippine Sea Plate with a dip angle of about 30° between the Backbone Belt and the Tananao Schist. In the Philippine Sea Plate, the Moho depth is about 17 km. The Longitudinal Valley marks the collision boundary between the Eurasia Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The results suggest that the depth extent of the Chaochou Fault is about 30–35 km and the fault becomes a “shallow-angle” thrust fault at depth. The Common Conversion Point image also shows several bending interfaces of velocity contrast in the crust. We proposed a simple model to explain the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasia Plate collision process and the observed crustal deformations.     

Seismotectonics of the Calabrian arc

Relocation of intermediate and deep earthquakes of Tyrrhenian Sea area through joint hypocenter determination for the period 1962–1979, has allowed a more detailed definition of the geometry of this peculiar Benioff zone. Earthquakes dip along a quasi-vertical plane to 250 km depth; there is a 50° dip in the 250–340 km depth range, and a low dip angle to 480 km depth. The structure sketched from the hypocenters is almost continuous, but most energy has been released in the 230–340 km depth interval. An evaluation of fault plane solutions of intermediate earthquakes in this area indicates predominance of down-dip compressions in the central part of the slab. At the border, strike-slip motion occurs independent of depth. Some earthquakes that occurred at intermediate depth (less than 100 km) along the Ionian margin of Calabria show predominance of reverse faulting, with the P-axis oriented SE-NW. However, shallow earthquakes in the Calabria-Sicily region indicate a more complex motion, with predominance of normal faulting. A possible interpretation of these features according to the available geological history, which involves subduction of continental lithosphere, is discussed.     

Plate collision and paleostress trajectories in a fold-thrust belt: The foothills of Taiwan

Field analyses of compressional faulting and folding in the Foothills of western Taiwan enable us to reconstruct paleostress trajectories over a large area and to establish the relative chronology of tectonic events. Two main compressional events have contributed to the present structure of the fold-thrust belt. Stratigraphic data show that these events are Plio-Pliocene in age. Older normal faulting indicates NNW-SSE extension across the Chinesse passive continental margin during the Neogene. The two main compressional events of the Taiwan collision correspond to similar fan-shaped distributions of maximum compressive stress trajectories, with a counterclockwise shift of 30°–50° between the two events. Using the relationship between recent stress trajectories and the direction of recent plate motion as a guide, we reconstruct the direction of plate convergence for the older event. We suspect that the relative motion Philippine Sea plate-Eurasia has rotated counterclockwise of at least 35°–45° in Taiwan during collision. This conclusion is in agreement with independent plate tectonic reconstructions. Several problems provide objectives to further tectonic and paleomagnetic studies, including the duration and diachronism of compressional events as well as possible clockwise rotation of northernmost Taiwan.     

Collision and stress trajectories in Taiwan: a finite element model

Field analyses of Plio-Quaternary compressional deformations in Taiwan have enabled us to reconstruct the paleostress trajectories resulting from the collision of the Luzon arc (Philippine Sea plate) with the Chinese continental margin (Eurasian plate). The direction of the maximum compressional stress σ₁ shows a fan-shaped pattern that we interpret as resulting from the collision of a rigid body (the Luzon arc) indenting a more deformable material (the thick sediments of the Chinese continental margin). Simple analytical models qualitatively explain the fan-shaped pattern, but the influence of various parameters such as boundary conditions and rheology cannot be quantitatively accounted for by this approach. Consequently, we have used a finite element technique to compute the stresses and strains induced by the push of a rigid body against a two-dimensional, viscous material. The boundary conditions are the velocities based on plate kinematics. A motion in the N300°E direction best explains the stress trajectories observed in central Taiwan. Viscosity contrasts as well as small changes in the shape of the northern edge of the indenter have little influence on the computed stress pattern. The most important parameter is the direction of convergence. Our model quantitatively explains the general pattern of the stress trajectories observed in the collision zone of Taiwan, between the Philippine Sea plate and Eurasia.     

Movement of lithospheric plates relative to subduction zones: Formation of marginal seas and active continental margins

Subduction zones with deep seismicity are believed to be associated with the descending branches of convective flows in the mantle and are subordinated to them. Therefore, the position of subduction zones can be considered as relatively fixed with respect to the steady-state system of convective flows. The lithospheric plate overhanging a subduction zone (as a rule of continental type) may:

1. (1) either move away from the subduction zone; or

2. (2) move onto it. In the first case extensional conditions originate behind the subduction zone and the new oceanic crust of back-arc basins forms. In the second case active Andean-type continental margins with thickening of the crust and lithosphere are observed.

Behind the majority of volcanic island-arcs, along the boundary with marginal-sea basins, independent shallow seismicity belts can be traced. They are parallel to the main seismicity belts coinciding with the Benioff zones. The seismicity belts frame island-arc microplates. Island-arc microplates are assumed to be a frame of reference to calculate relative movements of the consuming and overhanging plates. Using slip vector azimuths for shallow seismicity belts in the frontal parts of the Kurile, Japan, Izu-Bonin, Mariana and Tonga—Kermadec arcs, the position of the pole of rotation of the Pacific plate with respect to the western Pacific island-arc microplates was computed. Its coordinates are 66.1°N, 119.2°W. From the global closure of plate movements it has been determined that for the past 10 m.y. the Eurasian and Indian plates have been moving away from the Western Pacific island-arc system, both rotating clockwise, around poles at 31.1°N, 164.2°W and 1.3°S, 157.5°W, respectively. This provides for the opening of the back-arc basins. At the same time South America is moving onto the subduction zone at the rate of 4 cm/yr. Some “hot spots”, such as Hawaiian, Tibesti, and those of the South Atlantic, are moving relative to the island-arc system at a very low rate, viz. 0.5–0.7 cm/yr. Presumably, the western Pacific subduction zone and “hot spots” form a single frame of reference which can generally be used for the analysis of absolute motions.     

Implications of north pacific plate tectonics in central Alaska: Focal mechanisms of earthquakes

The focal mechanisms for 86 selected earthquakes (3.0 m_b 5.5) located in central Alaska have been investigated from P-wave first motions; the data were gathered by local seismic networks. The results show a depth-dependent characteristic to the fault-plane solutions. For earthquakes having focal depths shallower than 60–70 km, the focal mechanisms indicate either strike-slip or normal faults, while for earthquakes with foci at intermediate depths the focal mechanisms correspond to thrust faults. The nature of the seismicity indicates the hinge line of the Pacific lithospheric plate under the study area to be striking N17°E from Cook Inlet towards interior Alaska. The comparison of the focal mechanisms with the seismicity shows that the strike-slip and normal faults are the predominant processes of stress release along the shallow section of the plate. The earthquakes with intermediate foci systematically occur along the inclined section of the plate. If the gently dipping nodal planes for these earthquakes are chosen as the fault planes, the focal mechanisms correspond to underthrust motions at the foci. In these, the slip vectors are oriented either to the west or north with the resultant being in the N30°W direction. The tension axes for the underthrust solutions are also found to be parallel to the local dip of the plate, indicating that the subducted plate in interior Alaska is undergoing gravitational sinking.     

Variations of b‐values at the western edge of the Ryukyu Subduction Zone,north‐east Taiwan

Using earthquakes relocated in north‐east Taiwan, we estimated b‐value distribution along a cross‐section located near the Ryukyu slab edge, and four b‐value anomalous areas are evidenced: (1) a high b‐value body lying on top of a low Vp, low Vs and high Vp/Vs sausage‐like body was considered as a region of enhanced partial melt or water supply above which seismicity occurs; (2) beneath the Ilan Plain, an anomalous area characterized by b‐values slightly higher than 1.1 might give evidence to the magma conduits to the Kueishantao Island; (3) above the Ryukyu Wadati‐Benioff zone, at depths ranging from 90 to 110 km, a high b‐value anomaly might correspond to the depth where dehydration occurs in the subducting oceanic plate; and (4) a low b‐value area located within the Ryukyu slab, at depths ranging from 70 to 90 km, might be linked to the compressive mechanisms shown by focal mechanisms and the bending of the subducting plate.     

Shear-wave velocity model of the Chukuo fault zone,Southwest Taiwan,from cross correlation of seismic ambient noise

The Chia-Nan (Chiayi-Tainan) area is in the southwestern Taiwan, and is located at the active deformation front of the collision of the Eurasian continental plate and the Philippine Sea plate, which causes complex folds as well as thrust fault systems in the area. The Chukuo fault zone is a boundary between the Western Foothill and the Western Coastal Plain in the Chia-Nan area. The nature of the crustal structure beneath the fault zone, especially the eastern part of the fault zone with mountain topography, has not been well known in detailed due to lack of drilling data as well as its limitation in using other geophysical methods, such as active source survey. In this study, we deployed an array with 11 broadband seismic stations to monitor the seismicity of the Chukuo fault zone. The array has recorded more than 1000 microearthquakes around this area. It provides an opportunity to use P- and S-wave travel time data to investigate the both the crustal P- and S-velocity in the fault zone, however due to the nature of the earthquake distribution, the ray density is relatively low at depth between 0 and 7 km. In addition, the uncertainty of S-wave reading for small earthquake also a limit in building precise S-velocity profile, Thus, we take the advantages of using cross-correlation of seismic ambient noise to investigate crustal S-velocity profile in the Chukuo fault area, especially in the mountain area where crustal faulting is a dominated phenomenon. The results indicate that S-wave velocity in the uppermost crust in the Chukuo fault zone is shown to be slower than previous studies. A low velocity layer exists at depth between 1 and 2 km in the east of the Chukuo Fault. The low S-velocity is related to a highly fractured upper crust due to intensive deformation caused by the orogenic process.     

The dynamics of big mantle wedge, magma factory, and metamorphic–metasomatic factory in subduction zones

The East Asian continental margin is underlain by stagnant slabs resulting from subduction of the Pacific plate from the east and the Philippine Sea plate from the south. We classify the upper mantle in this region into three major domains: (a) metasomatic–metamorphic factory (MMF), subduction zone magma factory (SZMF), and the ‘big mantle wedge’ (BMW). Whereas the convection pattern is anticlockwise in the MMF domain, it is predominantly clockwise in the SZMF and BMW, along a cross section from the south. Here we define the MMF as a small wedge corner which is driven by the subducting Pacific plate and dominated by H₂O-rich fluids derived by dehydration reactions, and enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILE) which cause the metasomatism. The SZMF is a zone intermediate between MMF and BMW domains and constitutes the main region of continental crust production by partial melting through wedge counter-corner flow. Large hydrous plume generated at about 200 km depth causes extensive reduction in viscosity and the smaller scale hydrous plumes between 60 km and 200 km also bring about an overall reduction in the viscosity of SZMF. More fertile and high temperature peridotites are supplied from the entrance to this domain. The domain extends obliquely to the volcanic front and then swings back to the deep mantle together with the subducting slab. The BMW occupies the major portion of upper mantle in the western Pacific and convects largely with a clockwise sense removing the eastern trench oceanward. Sporadic formation of hydrous plume at the depth of around 410 km and the curtain flow adjacent to the trench cause back arc spreading. We envisage that the heat source in BMW could be the accumulated TTG (tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite) crust on the bottom of the mantle transition zone. The ongoing process of transportation of granitic crust into the mantle transition zone is evident from the deep subduction of five intra-oceanic arcs on the subducting Philippine Sea plate from the south, in addition to the sediment trapped subduction by the Pacific plate and Philippine Sea plate. The dynamics of MMF, SZMF and BMW domains are controlled by the angle of subduction; a wide zone of MMF in SW Japan is caused by shallow angle subduction of the Philippine Sea plate and the markedly small MMF domain in the Mariana trench is due to the high angle subduction of Pacific plate. The domains in NE Japan and Kyushu region are intermediate between these two. During the Tertiary, a series of marginal basins were formed because of the nearly 2000 km northward shift of the subduction zone along the southern margin of Tethyan Asia, which may be related to the collision of India with Asia and the indentation. The volume of upper mantle under Asia was reduced extensively on the southern margin with a resultant oceanward trench retreat along the eastern margin of Asia, leading to the formation of a series of marginal basins. The western Pacific domain in general is characterized by double-sided subduction; from the east by the oldest Pacific plate and from the south by the oldest Indo-Australian plate. The old plates are hence hydrated extensively even in their central domains and therefore of low temperature. The cracks have allowed the transport of water into the deeper portions of the slab and these domains supply hydrous fluids even to the bottom of the upper mantle. Thus, a fluid dominated upper mantle in the western Pacific drives a number of microplates and promote the plate boundary processes.     

Seismicity of the Hellenic subduction zone in the area of western and central Crete observed by temporary local seismic networks

Temporary local seismic networks were installed in western Crete, in central Crete, and on the island Gavdos south of western Crete, respectively, in order to image shallow seismically active zones of the Hellenic subduction zone.More than 4000 events in the magnitude range between −0.5 and 4.8 were detected and localized. The resulting three-dimensional hypocenter distribution allows the localization of seismically active zones in the area of western and central Crete from the Mediterranean Ridge to the Cretan Sea. Furthermore, a three-dimensional structural model of the studied region was compiled based on results of wide-angle seismics, surface wave analysis and receiver function studies. The comparison of the hypocenter distribution and the structure has allowed intraplate and interplate seismicity to be distinguished.High interplate seismicity along the interface between the subducting African lithosphere and the Aegean lithosphere was found south of western Crete where the interface is located at about 20 to 40 km depth. An offset between the southern border of the Aegean lithosphere and the southern border of active interplate seismicity is observed. In the area of Crete, the offset varies laterally along the Hellenic arc between about 50 and 70 km.A southwards dipping zone of high seismicity within the Aegean lithosphere is found south of central Crete in the region of the Ptolemy trench. It reaches from the interface between the plates at about 30 km depth towards the surface. In comparison, the Aegean lithosphere south of western Crete is seismically much less active including the region of the Ionian trench. Intraplate seismicity within the Aegean plate beneath Crete and north of Crete is confined to the upper about 20 km. Between 20 and 40 km depth beneath Crete, the Aegean lithosphere appears to be seismically inactive. In western Crete, the southern and western borders of this aseismic zone correlate strongly with the coastline of Crete.