Rayleigh wave tomography in the North Atlantic: high resolution images of the Iceland, Azores and Eifel mantle plumes

Presented in this paper is a high resolution S_v-wave velocity and azimuthal anisotropy model for the upper mantle beneath the North Atlantic and surrounding region derived from the analysis of about 9000 fundamental and higher-mode Rayleigh waveforms. Much of the dataset comes from global and national digital seismic networks, but to improve the path coverage a number of instruments at coastal sites in northwest Europe, Iceland and eastern Greenland was deployed by us and a number of collaborators. The dense path coverage, the wide azimuthal distribution and the substantial higher-mode content of the dataset, as well as the relatively short path-lengths in the dataset have enabled us to build an upper mantle model with a horizontal resolution of a few hundred kilometers extending to 400 km depth. Low upper mantle velocities exist beneath three major hotspots: Iceland, the Azores and Eifel. The best depth resolution in the model occurs in NW Europe and in this area low S_v-velocities in the vicinity of the Eifel hotspot extend to about 400 km depth. Major negative velocity anomalies exist in the North Atlantic upper mantle beneath both Iceland and the Azores hotspots. Both anomalies are, above 200 km depth, 4–7% slow with respect to PREM and elongated along the mid-Atlantic Ridge. Low velocities extend to the south of Iceland beneath the Reykjanes Ridge where other geophysical and geochemical observations indicate the presence of hot plume material. The low velocities also extend beneath the Kolbeinsey Ridge north of Iceland, where there is also supporting geochemical evidence for the presence of hot plume material. The low-velocity upper mantle beneath the Kolbeinsey Ridge may also be associated with a plume beneath Jan Mayen. The anomaly associated with the Azores extends from about 25°N to 45°N along the ridge axis, which is in agreement with the area influenced by the Azores Plume, predicted from geophysical and geochemical observations. Compared to the anomaly associated with Iceland, the Azores anomaly is elongated further along the ridge, is shallower and decays more rapidly with depth. The fast propagation direction of horizontally propagating S_v-waves in the Atlantic south of Iceland correlates well with the east–west ridge-spreading direction at all depths and changes to a direction close to NS in the vicinity of Iceland.     

Upper mantle P-wave tomography across the Longmenshan fault belt from passive-source seismic observations along Aba-Longquanshan profile

A passive seismic experiment across the Longmenshan (LMS) fault belt had been conducted between August 2006 and July 2007 for the understanding of geodynamic process between the Eastern Tibet and Sichuan basin. We herein collected 3677 first P arrival times with high precision from seismograms of 288 teleseismic events so as to reconstruct the upper mantle velocity structure. Our results show that the depth of the Lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) changes from 70 km beneath Eastern Tibet to about 110 km beneath Longquanshan, Sichuan Basin, which is consistent with the receiver function imaging results. The very thin mantle part of the lithosphere beneath Eastern Tibet may suggest the lithosphere delamination due to strong interaction between the Tibetan eastward escaping flow and the rigid resisting Sichuan basin, which can be further supported by the existences of two high-velocity anomalies beneath LAB in our imaging result. We also find there are two related low-velocity anomalies beneath the LMS fault belt, which may indicate magmatic upwelling from lithosphere delamination and account for the origin of tremendous energy needed by the devastating Wenchuan earthquake.     

青藏高原的地幔结构:地幔羽、地幔剪切带及岩石圈俯冲板片的拆沉

通过横穿青藏高原近 80 0 0km长的 4条天然地震层析剖面 ,获得 4 0 0km深度以上的地壳和地幔速度图像及地震波各向异性 ,揭示了青藏高原 4 0 0km深度范围内的地壳和地幔结构特征。地幔速度图像显示 ,青藏高原腹地的深地幔中存在以大型低速异常体为特征的地幔羽 ,其可能通过热通道与大面积分布的可可西里新生代高钾碱性火山作用有成因联系 ;阿尔金、康西瓦、金沙江、嘉黎及雅鲁藏布江等走滑断裂可下延至 30 0～ 4 0 0km深度 ,显示了低速高热物质组成的垂向低速异常带特征及大型超岩石圈或地幔剪切带的产出 ;发现康西瓦、东昆仑—金沙江、班公湖—怒江和雅鲁藏布缝合带下部存在不连续的高速异常带 ,可以解释为青藏高原地体拼合及碰撞过程中可能保留的加里东、古特提斯和中特提斯大洋岩石圈“化石”残片 ,是“拆沉”的地球物理证据。印度大陆岩石圈的巨厚俯冲板片以 15～ 2 0°倾角向北插入唐古拉山下 30 0km深处 ,并被高热物质组成的地幔剪切带分开。结合新的横穿喜马拉雅及青藏高原的地幔层析资料 ,提出青藏高原碰撞动力学新模式 :青藏高原南部印度岩石圈板片的翻卷式陆内超深俯冲 ,北缘克拉通向南的陆内俯冲 ,腹地深部的地幔羽上涌 ,以及地幔范围内的高原“右旋隆升”及物质向东及北东方向运动及挤出。     

中国及邻近陆海地区软流圈三维结构及其与岩石圈的相互作用

通过中国及邻近陆海地区天然地震面波层析成像三维Vs速度结构的系统地质构造解析,笔者论述了中国及邻近陆海地区软流圈三维结构特征,发现该区软流圈内既有高速块体,又有低速异常体,显示软流圈内存在纵向与横向上的不均匀性,研究软流圈内低速异常体三维几何结构表明,南海低速异常体呈复蘑菇状,结合地幔体波层析成像研究显示,南海地区存在巨型复蘑菇状地幔低速柱头。笔者还探讨了软流圈对岩石圈结构的影响及其相互作用问题。     

Deep structure of Kamchatka according to the results of MT sounding and seismic tomography

The key features in the distribution of geoelectric and velocity heterogeneities in the Earth’s crust and the upper mantle of Kamchatka are considered according to the data of deep magnetotelluric sounding and seismotomography. Their possible origin is discussed based on the combined analysis of electric conductivity and seismic velocity anomalies. The geoelectric model contains a crustal conducting layer at a depth of 15–35 km extending along the middle part of Kamchatka. In the Central Kamchatka volcanic belt, the layer is close to the ground surface to a depth of 15–20 km, where its conductivity considerably increases. Horizontal conducting zones with a width of up to 50 km extending into the Pacific Ocean are revealed in the lithosphere of eastern Kamchatka. The large centers of current volcanism are confined to the projections of the horizontal zones. The upper mantle contains an asthenospheric conducting layer that rises from a depth of 150 km in western Kamchatka to a depth of 70–80 km beneath the zone of current volcanism. According to the seismotographic data, the low- and high-seismic-velocity anomalies of P-waves that reflect lateral stratification, which includes the crust, the rigid part of the upper mantle, the asthenospheric layer in a depth range of ~70–130 km, and a high-velocity layer confined to a seismofocal zone, are identified on the vertical and horizontal cross sections of eastern Kamchatka. The cross sections show low-velocity anomalies, which, in the majority of cases, correspond to the high-conductivity anomalies caused by the increased porosity of rocks saturated with liquid fluids. However, there are also differences that are related to the electric conductivity of rocks depending on pore channels filled with liquid fluids making throughways for electric current. The seismic velocity depends, to a great extent, on the total porosity of the rocks, which also includes isolated and dead-end channels that can be filled with liquid fluids that do not contribute to the electric-current transfer. The data on electric conductivity and seismic velocity are used to estimate the porosity of the rocks in the anomalous zones of the Earth’s crust and the upper mantle that are characterized by high electric conductivity and low seismic velocity. This estimate serves as the basis for identifying the zones of partial melting in the lithosphere and the asthenosphere feeding the active volcanoes.     

西藏及其周围地区地壳、地幔地震层析成像——印度板块大规模俯冲于西藏高原之下的证据

文中介绍有关西藏—喜马拉雅碰撞带的一项地震层析成像研究。根据一个用天然地震数据产生的全球波速模型 ,印度板块有可能以近水平状俯冲于整个西藏高原之下至 16 5～ 2 6 0km深度。西藏岩石圈具有低波速地壳和高波速下岩石圈 (75～ 12 0km深 )。在 12 0～ 16 5km深度范围 ,西藏岩石圈与俯冲的印度板块之间有一层低速软流圈物质。高原中部从地表到 310km深处有一低速体 ,说明地幔物质有可能穿过俯冲板块的脆弱部位上隆。这些结果以及野外实测的地壳缩短值说明高原的抬升得助于印度板块的近水平俯冲。我们推论俯冲印度板块的升温上浮以及上覆软流层的存在是造成西藏高原高海拔抬升以及内部地表仍相对平坦的主要原因。2 0 0 1年 1月 2 6日在印度西部发生的毁灭性大地震有可能是俯冲应力在印度板块后缘薄弱处引发的岩石圈大断裂。     

Mantle structure and dynamics under East Russia and adjacent regions

We present seismic images of the mantle beneath East Russia and adjacent regions and discuss geodynamic implications. Our mantle tomography shows that the subducting Pacific slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under Western Alaska, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Japan Sea, and Northeast Asia. Many intraplate volcanoes exist in these areas, which are located above the low-velocity zones in the upper mantle above the stagnant slab, suggesting that the intraplate volcanoes are related to the dynamic processes in the big mantle wedge above the stagnant slab and the deep slab dehydration. Teleseismic tomography revealed a low-velocity zone extending down to 660 km depth beneath the Baikal rift zone, which may represent a mantle plume. The bottom depths of the Wadati–Benioff deep seismic zone and the Pacific slab itself become shallower toward the north under Kamchatka Peninsula, and the slab disappears under the northernmost Kamchatka. The slab loss is considered to be caused by the friction between the slab and the surrounding asthenosphere as the Pacific plate rotated clockwise at about 30 Ma ago, and then the slab loss was enlarged by the slab-edge pinch-off by the hot asthenospheric flow and the presence of Meiji seamounts.     

Seismic images under 60 hotspots: Search for mantle plumes

The mantle plume hypothesis is now widely known to explain hotspot volcanoes, but direct evidence for actual plumes is weak, and seismic images are available for only a few hotspots. In this work, we present whole-mantle tomographic images under 60 major hotspots on Earth. The lateral resolution of the tomographic images is about 300 km under the continental hotspots and 400–600 under the oceanic hotspots. Twelve plume-like, continuous low-velocity (low-V) anomalies in both the upper and lower mantle are visible under Hawaii, Tahiti, Louisville, Iceland, Cape Verde, Reunion, Kerguelen, Amsterdam, Afar, Eifel, Hainan, and Cobb hotspots, suggesting that they may be 12 whole-mantle plumes originating from the core–mantle boundary (CMB). Clear upper-mantle low-V anomalies are visible under Easter, Azores, Vema, East Australia, and Erebus hotspots, which may be 5 upper-mantle plumes. A mid-mantle plume may exist under the San Felix hotspot. The active intra-plate volcanoes in Northeast Asia (e.g., Changbai, Wudalianchi, etc.) are related to the stagnant Pacific slab in the mantle transition zone. The Tengchong volcano in Southwest China is related to the subduction of the Burma microplate under the Eurasian plate. Although low-V anomalies are generally visible in some depth range in the mantle under other hotspots, their plume features are not clear, and their origins are still unknown. The 12 whole-mantle plumes show tilted images, suggesting that plumes are not fixed in the mantle but can be deflected by the mantle flow. In most cases, the seismic images under the hotspots are complex, particularly around the mantle transition zone. A thin low-V layer is visible right beneath the 660-km discontinuity under some hotspots, while under a few other hotspots, low-V anomalies spread laterally just above the 660-km discontinuity. These may reflect ponding of plume materials in the top part of the lower mantle or the bottom of the upper mantle. The variety of behaviors of the low-V anomalies under hotspots reflects strong lateral variations in temperature and viscosity of the mantle, which control the generation and ascending of mantle plumes as well as the flow pattern of mantle convection.     

Seismic evidence for a mantle plume beneath the Cape Verde hotspot

P- and S-wave tomography of the upper mantle beneath the Cape Verde hotspot is determined using arrival-time data measured precisely from three-component seismograms of 106 distant earthquakes recorded by a local seismic network. Our results show a prominent low-velocity anomaly imaged as a continuous column <100 km wide from the uppermost mantle down to about 500 km beneath Cape Verde, especially below the Fogo active volcano, which erupted in 1995. The low-velocity anomaly may reflect a hot mantle plume feeding the Cape Verde hotspot.     

利用体波层析成像技术研究欧亚及邻区地幔三维速度结构

根据体波层析成像技术,利用大量走时数据,做出0°～180°E,30°S～90°S范围内0～2889km深的三维速度分布图像,得到欧亚地区局部区域岩石圈及地幔的高分辨率速度结构,并从地球动力学角度出发对这些成像结果做进一步解释。     

Structure of the Earth’s crust and tectonic evolution history of the Southern Indian Ocean (Antarctica)

The Southern Indian Ocean comprises large sedimentary basins of the Riiser-Larsen Sea (western sector); the Cosmonauts, Cooperation (Commonwealth), Davis seas (central sector); and the Mawson-d’Urville seas (eastern sector). The main tectonic provinces of the Southern Indian Ocean (Antarctica) have been outlined as a result of comprehensive interpretation of the geophysical data. Special attention is paid to determining the boundary between the rifted continental and oceanic crust. The basin of the Riiser-Larsen Sea was formed in the Early Jurassic under the action of the Karoo mantle plume. The intrusive complex, as a remote manifestation of the mantle plume, occurs along the inner boundary of the marginal rift. Opening of the ocean in the basin of Riiser-Larsen Sea started about 160 Ma ago and was characterized by rearrangement of plate motion and intense volcanic activity at the early stage. In the basin of the Cosmonauts, Cooperation, and Davis seas, the final stage of rifting was accompanied by the rise of the lithospheric mantle and by intrusive magmatism. The opening of the ocean started here 134 Ma ago. Emplacement of the Kerguelen plume resulted in jumping of ridges and detachment of continental crustal blocks from the Indian margin with the formation of the Kerguelen Plateau (microcontinent). The basin of the Mawson-d’Urville seas has evolved under conditions of long-term rifting since the Late Jurassic and is characterized by an extended zone of mantle unroofing. Breakup of the lithosphere between Australia and Antarctica developed asynchronously over a time interval of 95–65 Ma ago with propagation of MOR from the west eastward. The research was carried out using a great body of geophysical information (～140000 km of CDP seismic profiling, more than 250 stations of seismic refraction sounding, and more than 250000 km of magnetic and gravity profiles) obtained by expeditions from many countries over more than 30 years.     

Teleseismic imaging of the mantle beneath southernmost China: New insights into the Hainan plume

Intraplate volcanism during the Late Cenozoic in the Leiqiong area of southernmost China, with basaltic lava flows covering a total of more than 7000 km², has been attributed to an underlying Hainan plume. To clarify detailed features of the Hainan plume, such as the morphology of its magmatic conduits, the depth of its magmatic pool in the upper mantle and the pattern of mantle upwelling, we determined tomographic images of the mantle down to a depth of 1100 km beneath southern China using 18,503 high-quality arrival-time data of 392 distant earthquakes recorded by a dense seismic array. Our results show a mushroom-like continuous low-velocity anomaly characterized by a columnar tail with a diameter of 200–300 km extending down to the lower mantle beneath north of the Hainan hotspot and a head spreading laterally in and around the mantle transition zone, indicating a magmatic pool in the upper mantle. Further upward, the plume head is decomposed into smaller patches, and when reaching the base of the lithosphere, a pancake-like anomaly has formed to feed the Hainan hotspot. This result challenges the classical model of a fixed thermal plume that rises vertically to the surface. Hence we propose a new layering-style model for the magmatic upwelling of the Hainan plume. Our results indicate spatial complexities and variations of mantle plumes probably due to heterogeneous compositions and thermochemical structures of the deep mantle.     

Three-dimensional P- and S-wave velocity structures beneath the Japan Islands obtained by high-density seismic stations by seismic tomography

We construct fine-scale 3D P- and S-wave velocity structures of the crust and upper mantle beneath the whole Japan Islands with a unified resolution, where the Pacific (PAC) and Philippine Sea (PHS) plates subduct beneath the Eurasian (EUR) plate. We can detect the low-velocity (low-V) oceanic crust of the PAC and PHS plates at their uppermost part beneath almost all the Japan Islands. The depth limit of the imaged oceanic crust varies with the regions. High-V_P/V_S zones are widely distributed in the lower crust especially beneath the volcanic front, and the high strain rate zones are located at the edge of the extremely high-V_P/V_S zone; however, V_P/V_S at the top of the mantle wedge is not so high. Beneath northern Japan, we can image the high-V subducting PAC plate using the tomographic method without any assumption of velocity discontinuities. We also imaged the heterogeneous structure in the PAC plate, such as the low-V zone considered as the old seamount or the highly seismic zone within the double seismic zone where the seismic fault ruptured by the earthquake connects the upper and lower layer of the double seismic zone. Beneath central Japan, thrust-type small repeating earthquakes occur at the boundary between the EUR and PHS plates and are located at the upper part of the low-V layer that is considered to be the oceanic crust of the PHS plate. In addition to the low-V oceanic crust, the subducting high-V PAC plate is clearly imaged to depths of approximately 250 km and the subducting high-V PHS zone to depths of approximately 180 km is considered to be the PHS plate. Beneath southwestern Japan, the iso-depth lines of the Moho discontinuity in the PHS plate derived by the receiver function method divide the upper low-V layer and lower high-V layer of our model at depths of 30–50 km. Beneath Kyushu, the steeply subducting PHS plate is clearly imaged to depths of approximately 250 km with high velocities. The high-V_P/V_S zone is considered as the lower crust of the EUR plate or the oceanic crust of the PHS plate at depths of 25–35 km and the partially serpentinized mantle wedge of the EUR plate at depths of 30–45 km beneath southwestern Japan. The deep low-frequency nonvolcanic tremors occur at all parts of the high-V_P/V_S zone—within the zone, the seaward side, and the landward side where the PHS plate encounters the mantle wedge of the EUR plate. We prove that we can objectively obtain the fine-scale 3D structure with simple constraints such as only 1D initial velocity model with no velocity discontinuity.     

Heterogeneous modification and reactivation of a craton margin beneath the Korean Peninsula from teleseismic travel time tomography

Margins of old continental lithosphere are likely prone to ongoing modification processes. Therefore, constraining detailed structures beneath the margin can be essential in understanding the evolution of the continental lithosphere. The eastern margin of the Eurasian plate is a natural laboratory that allows us to study the strong effects from multiple episodes of continental collision and subduction of different oceanic plates since their formation. To reveal the detailed evolution of cratons at their margins, we describe, for the first time, the upper mantle structures beneath the southern Korean Peninsula (SKP) based strictly on teleseismic relative arrival time data from densely deployed local seismic arrays, which allows us to constrain the details of the lithospheric structures beneath the Archean-Proterozoic basement. We imaged a thick (~150 km) high-velocity anomaly mainly beneath the Proterozoic Yeongnam Massif with large velocity contrasts (dlnVp ≈ 4.0% and dlnVs ≈ 6.0%) at its boundaries, suggesting the presence of a long-lasting cratonic root in the southwestern SKP. On the other hand, low-velocity anomalies were found beneath the Proterozoic Gyeonggi Massif, Gyeongsang arc-back-arc basin, and along the eastern margin of the SKP, indicating significantly modified regions. The possible existence of a remnant cratonic root beneath the SKP and contrasting lithospheric structures across the different Precambrian massifs suggests the highly heterogeneous modification of cratonic lithosphere at the eastern Eurasian plate margin. Strong velocity reductions, which indicate a thermally elevated upper mantle potentially with partial melts, correspond to areas of Cenozoic basalts, high surface heat flow, and high topography along the eastern KP margin. We interpret this coincidence as a result of recent reactivation of a craton margin, which is controlled by intense interaction between the convective upper mantle and heterogeneous continental lithosphere.     

A dynamic model of the Hellenic Arc deduced from geophysical data

Combined gravity and seismic data from Greece and the adjacent areas have been used to explain the high seismicity and tectonic activity of this area. Computed 2-D gravity models revealed that below the Aegean region a large “plume” of hot upper-mantle material is rising, causing strong attenuation of the crust. The hot “plume” extends to the base of the lithosphere and has very probably been mobilized through compressional processes that forced the lithosphere to sink into the asthenosphere. The above model is supported by: high heat flow in the Aegean region; low velocity of the compressional waves of 7.7 km/sec for the upper mantle; lower density than normal extending to the base of the lithosphere; teleseismic P-wave travel-time residuals of the order of +2 sec for seismic events recorded at the Greek seismic stations; volcanics in the Aegean area with a chemical composition which can be explained by assuming an assimilation of oceanic crust by the upper mantle; deep seismicity (200 km) which has been interpreted by various authors as a Benioff zone.     

Petrogenesis of picrites from the Caribbean Plateau and the North Atlantic magmatic province

We studied the petrography, mineralogy and geochemistry of picrites from three different regions: the island of Curaçao which forms part of a Cretaceous oceanic plateau; Iceland, an active hot spot on the mid-Atlantic ridge; and the early Tertiary volcanic margin off the coast of Greenland, which formed during the rifting that created the Atlantic ocean. Using the compositions of olivine phenocrysts and relations between MgO and FeO, Al₂O₃ and Ni, we estimated compositions of parental liquids and the proportion of accumulated olivine in each rock. Picrites from Curaçao formed mainly from a liquid with 12 wt.% MgO and they contain up to 55 wt.% excess olivine in the form of phenocrysts. A small proportion of more forsterite-rich olivine grains are xenocrysts from a more magnesian source. Picrites from Iceland formed from a slightly less magnesian liquid but one with also about 12 wt.% MgO and they contain both olivine and plagioclase in the accumulated assemblage. Picrites from the Greenland volcanic margin formed from a liquid that was distinctly more magnesian, with up to 20 wt.% MgO. In some of these rocks the proportion of accumulated olivine was minimal and in these the whole-rock composition is roughly equivalent to the liquid composition. The picrites from the three areas formed under different conditions and through contrasting melting processes. The Curaçao picrites derive from pooled liquids formed through moderate degrees of melting at moderate depths beneath a relatively old and thick oceanic lithosphere. Iceland picrites, on the other hand, formed through advanced fractional melting of mantle that ascended almost to the base of the crust at the mid-ocean spreading center. An unusual combination of relatively high concentrations of incompatible trace elements and high MgO indicates that the Greenland picrites formed by relatively low degrees of melting at greater depths in the mantle.     

The key role of global solid‐Earth processes in preconditioning Greenland's glaciation since the Pliocene

After >500 Ma of absence, major Northern Hemisphere glaciations appeared during the Plio‐Pleistocene, with Greenland leading other northern areas. Here, we propose that three major solid‐Earth processes underpinned build‐up of the Greenland ice‐sheet. First, a mantle‐plume pulse, responsible for the North Atlantic Igneous Province at ~60 Ma, regionally thinned the lithosphere. Younger plume pulses led to uplift, which accelerated at ~5 Ma, lifting the parts of the East Greenland margin closest to Iceland to elevations of more than 3 km above sea level. Second, plate‐tectonic reconstruction shows a ~6° northward component of Greenland motion relative to the mantle since ~60 Ma. Third, a concurrent northward rotation of the entire mantle and crust towards the pole, dubbed True Polar Wander (TPW), contributed an additional ~12° change in latitude. These global geodynamic processes preconditioned Greenland to sustain long‐term glaciation, emphasizing the role of solid‐Earth processes in driving long‐term global climatic transitions.     

Upper mantle structure of the South American continent and neighboring oceans from surface wave tomography

We present a new three-dimensional SV-wave velocity model for the upper mantle beneath South America and the surrounding oceans, built from the waveform inversion of 5850 Rayleigh wave seismograms. The dense path coverage and the use of higher modes to supplement the fundamental mode of surface waves allow us to constrain seismic heterogeneities with horizontal wavelengths of a few hundred kilometres in the uppermost 400 km of the mantle.The large scale features of our tomographic model confirm previous results from global and regional tomographic studies (e.g. the depth extent of the high velocity cratonic roots down to about 200–250 km).Several new features are highlighted in our model. Down to 100 km depth, the high velocity lid beneath the Amazonian craton is separated in two parts associated with the Guyana and Guapore shields, suggesting that the rifting episode responsible for the formation of the Amazon basin has involved a significant part of the lithosphere. Along the Andean subduction belt, the structure of the high velocity anomaly associated with the sudbduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate reflects the along-strike variation in dip of the subducting plate. Slow velocities are observed down to about 100 km and 150 km at the intersection of the Carnegie and Chile ridges with the continent and are likely to represent the thermal anomalies associated with the subducted ridges. These lowered velocities might correspond to zones of weakness in the subducted plate and may have led to the formation of “slab windows” developed through unzipping of the subducted ridges; these windows might accommodate a transfer of asthenospheric mantle from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. From 150 to 250 km depth, the subducting Nazca plate is associated with high seismic velocities between 5°S and 37°S. We find high seismic velocities beneath the Paraná basin down to about 200 km depth, underlain by a low velocity anomaly in the depth range 200–400 km located beneath the Ponta Grossa arc at the southern tip of the basin. This high velocity anomaly is located southward of a narrow S-wave low velocity structure observed between 200 and 500–600 km depth in body wave studies, but irresolvable with our long period datasets. Both anomalies point to a model in which several, possibly diachronous, plumes have risen to the surface to generate the Paraná large igneous province (LIP).     

Boundaries of mantle–lithosphere domains in the Bohemian Massif as extinct exhumation channels for high-pressure rocks

Five domains (microplates) have been recognized by seismic anisotropy in the mantle lithosphere of the Bohemian Massif. The mantle domains correspond to major crustal units and each of the domains bears a consistent fossil olivine fabric formed before their Variscan assembly. The present-day mantle fabric indicates that this process consisted of at least three oceanic subductions, each followed by an underthrusting of the continental lithosphere. The seismic anisotropy does not detect remnants of the oceanic subductions, but it can trace boundaries of the preserved continental domains subsequently underthrust along the paths of previous oceanic subductions. The most robust continent–continent collision was followed by westward underthrusting of the Brunovistulian mantle lithosphere, still detectable by seismic anisotropy more than 100 km beneath the Moldanubian mantle lithosphere. Major occurrences of the high-pressure/ultra high-pressure (HP–UHP) rocks follow the ENE and NNE oriented sutures and boundaries of the mantle–lithosphere domains mapped from three-dimensional modeling of body-wave anisotropy. The HP–UHP rocks are products of oceanic subductions and the following underthrusting of the continental crust and mantle lithosphere exhumed along the mantle boundaries. The close relation of the mantle sutures and occurrences of the HP–UHP rocks near the paleosubductions testifies for models interpreting the granulite–garnet peridotite association by oceanic/continental subduction/underthrusting followed by the exhumation of deep-seated rocks. Our findings support the bivergent subduction model of tectonic development of the central part of the Bohemian Massif. The inferences from seismic anisotropy image the Bohemian Massif as a mosaic of microplates with a rigid mantle lithosphere preserving a fossil olivine fabric. The collisional mantle boundaries, blurred by tectonometamorphic processes in easily deformed overlying crust, served as major exhumation channels of the HP–UHP rocks.     

Lithosphere mapping beneath the North American plate

Major- and trace-element analyses of garnets from heavy-mineral concentrates have been used to derive the compositional and thermal structure of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath 16 areas within the core of the ancient Laurentian continent and 11 areas in the craton margin and fringing mobile belts. Results are presented as stratigraphic sections showing variations in the relative proportions of different rock types and metasomatic styles, and the mean Fo content of olivine, with depth. Detailed comparisons with data from mantle xenoliths demonstrate the reliability of the sections.

In the Slave Province, the SCLM in most areas shows a two-layer structure with a boundary at 140–160 km depth. The upper layer shows pronounced lateral variations, whereas the lower layer, after accounting for different degrees of melt-related metasomatism, shows marked uniformity. The lower layer is interpreted as a subcreted plume head, added at ca. 3.2 Ga; this boundary between the layers rises to <100 km depth toward the northern and southern edges of the craton. Strongly layered SCLM suggests that plume subcretion may also have played a role in the construction of the lithosphere beneath Michigan and Saskatchewan.

Outside the Slave Province, most North American Archon SCLM sections are less depleted than similar sections in southern Africa and Siberia; this may reflect extensive metasomatic modification. In E. Canada, the degree of modification increases toward the craton margin, and the SCLM beneath the Kapuskasing Structural Zone is typical of that beneath Proterozoic to Phanerozoic mobile belts.

SCLM sections from several Proterozoic areas around the margin of the Laurentian continental core (W. Greenland, Colorado–Wyoming district, Arkansas) show discontinuities and gaps that are interpreted as the effects of lithosphere stacking during collisional orogeny. Some areas affected by Proterozoic orogenesis (Wyoming Craton, Alberta, W. Greenland) appear to retain buoyant, modified Archean SCLM. Possible juvenile Proterozoic SCLM beneath the Colorado Plateau is significantly less refractory. The SCLM beneath the Kansas kimberlite field is highly melt-metasomatised, reflecting its proximity to the Mid-Continent Rift System.

A traverse across the continent shows that the upper part of the cratonic SCLM is highly magnesian; the decrease in mg# with depth is interpreted as the cumulative effect of metasomatic modification through time. The relatively small variations in seismic velocity within the continental core largely reflect the thickness of this depleted layer. The larger drop in seismic velocity in the surrounding Proton and Tecton belts reflects the closely coupled changes in SCLM composition and geotherm.