对后续震相的认识促进了地震层析成像的发展

与地震初动震相相比,后续震相包含有更为丰富的地球内部信息,因此逐渐地在地震层析成像研究中得到重视。文中以赵大鹏等最近的层析成像研究为例,介绍了通过增加后续震相到时信息得到的新的层析成像研究成果,包括通过使用反射波,仅用两个地震台站就可以进行地壳成像研究;深度震相到时的增加,拓宽了区域成像范围,成功实现了台网外部层析成像;随着国际地震中心(ISC)提供的更丰富的各种后续震相到时,对后续震相的认识和使用促进了全球体波走时成像的发展和对地球深部结构及动力学过程的认识。另一方面,地震学相关领域的进步,使得更多的后续震相能够被拾取并被应用到成像研究中,这将大大提高对地震波形信息的挖掘,提高对研究地区下三维结构的认识,极大地促进地震层析成像学的发展。     

Multiscale seismic tomography and mantle dynamics

In this article we first introduce the methodology of multiscale seismic tomography and the way to interpret the obtained tomographic images, and then review the significant recent results of multiscale seismic tomography with emphasis on mantle plumes and subducting slabs. Global and regional tomography shows that most of the slab materials under Western Pacific and East Asia are stagnant in the mantle transition zone before finally collapsing down to the core–mantle boundary as a result of large gravitational instability from phase transitions. Local and teleseismic tomography studies have imaged clearly the subducting slabs and arc magma chambers in the upper-mantle wedge, indicating that geodynamic systems associated with arc magmatism and back-arc spreading are related to deep processes, such as convective circulation in the mantle wedge and dehydration reactions of the subducting slab. Because most hotspots are located in poorly instrumented continental and oceanic regions, 3-D crust and upper-mantle structure is determined for only a few hotspots such as Iceland, Yellowstone and Eifel which are covered by seismic networks, and plume-like slow anomalies are revealed under those hotspots. Global tomography has revealed deep mantle plumes under the major hotspots such as Hawaii, Iceland, Kerguelen, South Pacific and Africa. Strong lateral heterogeneities are revealed at the bottom of the mantle, which are associated with the deeply subducted slabs and the birth of mantle plumes. A thorough understanding of the deep Earth structure will only be achieved by a combination of more effective seismic imaging techniques and dense coverage of global seismic networks, particularly in the oceans.     

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.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000255

Geophysical studies point to a complex tectonic and geodynamic evolution of the Alboran Basin and Gulf of Cadiz.Tomographic images show strong seismic waves velocity contrasts in the upper mantle.The high velocity anomaly beneath the Alboran Sea recovered by a number of studies is now a well established feature.Several geodynamic reconstructions have been proposed also on the base of these images.We present and elaborate on results coming from a recent tomography study which concentrates on both the Alboran and the adjacent Atlantic region.These new results,while they confirm the existence of the fast anomaly below the Alboran region,also show interesting features of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system below the Atlantic.A high velocity body is imaged roughly below the Horseshoe Abyssal plain down to sub-lithospheric depths.This feature suggests either a possible initiation or relic subduction.Pronounced low velocity anomalies pervade the upper mantle below the Atlantic region and separate the lithospheres of the two regions.We also notice a strong change of the upper mantle velocity structure going from south to north across the Gorringe Bank.This variation in structure could be related to the different evolution in the opening of the central and northern Atlantic oceans.     

Distinct upper mantle deformation of cratons in response to subduction: Constraints from SKS wave splitting measurements in eastern China

Interaction between the subducting slab, the overriding continental lithosphere and mantle flow are fundamental geodynamic processes of subduction systems. Eastern China is an ideal natural laboratory to investigate the behavior and evolution of cratonic blocks within a subduction system. In this study, we investigate deformation of the upper mantle beneath eastern China. We present seismic shear wave splitting measurements from three networks consisting of over 483 broadband stations, with 157 stations giving a total of 516 results. The splitting parameters exhibit complex regional patterns but are relatively coherent within individual tectonic units. Tectonic blocks exhibited distinctive fast directions relative to regional features. The dominant attitude of fast directions for the North China Craton was subparallel to the direction of subduction, whereas fast directions for Southeastern China were perpendicular to the direction of subduction. The shear wave splitting measurements were interpreted according to a high resolution tomographic body-wave velocity model. Combining these two datasets showed that the predominant geodynamic models for the region (mantle plume, mantle wedge and flat-slab subduction models) are incompatible with the observations presented here. We suggest that the North China Craton, Yangtze Craton and the Cathaysia block have undergone different deformational events due to differing mantle flow patterns, and distinct spatial and temporal subduction histories of the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates.     

On the Layering Artifacts in Seismic Imageries

A common feature in seismic imageries of the crust and mantle is a layering pattern.Layering structures do exist in multiple scales,such as layered strata and unconformities in local and regional scales,and undulating seismic discontinuities in the crust and mantle.However,layering arti-fact also exists due to limitations in seismic processing and data coverage.There is a tendency for seis-mic stacking methods to over-map reflectors and scatters into along-isochron layers.In contrast,seis-mic tomography met...     

Seismic anisotropy tomography: New insight into subduction dynamics

Body-wave and surface-wave tomography, receiver-function imaging, and shear-wave splitting measurements have shown that seismic anisotropy and heterogeneity coexist in all parts of subduction zones, providing important constraints on the mantle flow and subduction dynamics. P-wave anisotropy tomography is a new but powerful tool for mapping three-dimensional variations of azimuthal and radial seismic anisotropy in the crust and mantle. P-wave azimuthal-anisotropy tomography has been applied widely to the Circum-Pacific subduction zones, Mainland China and North America, whereas P-wave radial-anisotropy tomography was applied to only a few areas including Northeast Japan, Southwest Japan and North China Craton. These studies have revealed complex anisotropy in the crust and mantle lithosphere associated with the surface geology and tectonics, anisotropy reflecting subduction-driven corner flow in the mantle wedge, frozen-in fossil anisotropy in the subducting slabs formed at the mid-ocean ridge, as well as olivine fabric transitions due to changes in water content, stress and temperature. Shear-wave splitting tomography methods have been also proposed, but their applications are still limited and preliminary. There is a discrepancy between the surface-wave and body-wave tomographic models in radial anisotropy of the mantle wedge beneath Japan, which is a puzzle but an intriguing topic for future studies.     

Imag(in)ing the continental lithosphere

This paper is primarily concerned with seismically imaging details in the mantle at an intermediate scale length between the large scales of regional and global tomography and the small scales of reflection profiles and outcrops. This range is roughly 0.1–1 km < a < 10–10² km, where a is the scale. We consider the implications of several models for mantle evolution in a convecting mantle, and possible scales present in the non-convecting tectosphere. Reflection seismic evidence shows that the structures preserved from continental accretion within and at the margins of the Archean cratons are subduction related, and we use subduction as an analog for scales left by past events. In modern orogenic belts we expect to find subduction structures, small scale upper mantle convection structures, and basalt extraction structures. We examine some of the scales that are likely formed by orogenic processes.We also examine the seismic velocity and density contrasts expected between various upper mantle constituents, including fertile upper mantle, depleted upper mantle, normal and eclogitized oceanic crust, and fertile mantle with and without partial melt. This leads directly to predicting the size of seismic signals that can be produced by specular conversion, and scattering from layers and objects with these contrasts.We introduce an imaging scheme that makes use of scattered waves in teleseismic receiver functions to make a depth migrated image of a pseudo-scattering coefficient. Image resolution is theoretically at least an order of magnitude better than traveltime tomography. We apply the imaging scheme to three data sets from 1) the Kaapvaal craton, 2) the Cheyenne Belt, a Paleoproterozoic suture between a protocontinent and an island arc, and 3) the Jemez Lineament, a series of aligned modern volcanic structures at the site of a Proterozoic suture zone. The Kaapvaal image, although not defining a unique base of the tectosphere, shows complicated “layered” events in the region defined as the base of the tectosphere in tomography images. The image of the transition zone discontinuities beneath the Kaapvaal craton is remarkable for clarity. The migrated receiver function image of the upper mantle beneath the Cheyenne belt is complicated, more so than the tomography image, and may indicate limitations in the receiver function imaging system. In contrast the Jemez Lineament image shows large-amplitude negative-polarity layered events beneath the Moho to depths of 120 km, that we interpret as melt-containing sills in the upper mantle. These sills presumably feed the Quaternary–Neogene regional basaltic volcanic field.     

南海东北部及其邻近地区地壳上地幔P波速度结构

利用中国地震台网和ISC台站记录的P波到时数据,采用球坐标系有限差分地震层析成像方法反演了南海东北部及其邻近地区壳幔三维P波速度结构,并分析了不同地质单元的构造差异及其深部特征。结果表明:南海东北部表现出陆架地区的岩石层特性,属于华南大陆向海区的延伸,岩石层厚度较大,现今不存在大规模的地幔热流活动,推测大陆边缘张裂作用仅限于地壳内部而没有延伸进入上地幔,具有非火山型大陆边缘的深部特点。中央海盆附近上地幔P波速度明显降低,与海盆下方地幔热流活动密切相关。不同的速度异常特征表明:华南大陆暨台湾地区属于欧亚大陆的正常地壳或是与菲律宾海板块相互作用产生的增厚型地壳,冲绳海槽则是弧后扩张产生的减薄型地壳。滨海断裂带作为华南大陆高速异常和南海北部高速异常的分界,代表了一定地质时期华南地块和南海地块的拼合边界。断裂附近的上地幔低速异常揭示了闽粤沿海岩浆作用的深层动力机制。吕宋岛弧、马尼拉海沟、东吕宋海槽的速度异常与其所处的特殊构造位置有密切的关系,清晰地反映出岛弧俯冲带的地壳结构差异;台湾南部至吕宋岛弧的上地幔低速异常揭示了两个重要火山链的深部构造特征,北吕宋海脊下方100 km深度的条带状高速异常有可能代表了俯冲下沉的岩石层板片。     

长江中下游成矿带岩石圈结构与成矿动力学模型——深部探测(SinoProbe)综述

岩石圈结构和深部过程对理解成矿带和大型矿集区的形成十分重要。岩石圈尺度的地球动力学过程将在地壳中留下各种结构的或物质的"痕迹",这些"痕迹"可以通过地球物理的手段去探测。为深入理解长江中下游成矿带形成的深部动力学过程,作者在国家深部探测专项(SinoProbe)和国家自然科学基金重点项目支持下,在长江中下游成矿带开展了综合地球物理探测。方法包括宽频地震、深地震反射、广角反射/折射和大地电磁测深。数据处理和反演结果取得一系列新发现:(1)成矿带上地幔顶部存在低速体,在中心深度300km处有一向SW倾斜的高速体;(2)S波接收函数证实成矿带岩石圈较薄,只有50~70km;横波分裂结果显示,成矿带上地幔各向异性方向和强度与邻区有较大区别,显示平行成矿带(NE-SW向)的上地幔变形和流动;(3)深反射地震揭示成矿带上地壳曾发生强烈挤压变形,以紧闭褶皱、逆冲和推覆为特征;在宁芜火山岩盆地、长江断裂带和郯庐断裂之下出现"鳄鱼嘴"构造,指示上下地壳在挤压变形过程中解耦;深反射地震证实发生过陆内俯冲和叠瓦,并认为是岩石圈增厚和拆沉的主导机制;(4)广角反射和大地电磁反演给出了跨成矿带地壳剖面的速度和电性结构,速度和电阻率分布总体上与构造单元相吻合。本文分析和解释了这些发现的地质意义,并结合近年在长江中下游地区的地球化学研究进展,提出了成矿带地球动力学模型。该模型认为:中、晚侏罗世陆内俯冲、岩石圈拆沉、幔源岩浆底侵和MASH过程造就了长江中下游世界级成矿带的形成。     

Recycling of oceanic crust and the origin of intraplate volcanism

Source models for intraplate volcanism (IPV) include vertical introduction of material from deep in the mantle (plume model), contamination of the shallow mantle (perisphere and continental mantle delamination models) and derivation by selective partial melting of oceanic crust recycled into the depleted mantle (SUMA/streaky mantle models). The plume hypothesis became the ruling model after a flawed interpretation of helium isotope data in the mid 1980s that led to plumes being imposed on models for crustal recycling into the depleted mantle. This incorporation of otherwise competing concepts, is the cause of unnecessary complexity in modern geodynamic models. The plume model cannot explain all manifestations of IPV and a comprehensive explanation can only be found by invoking the alternative options, combined with their tapping by plate tectonic processes.     

地幔转换带:地球深部研究的重要方向

地幔转换带是联系上下地幔的纽带,对于认识整个地幔的组成和演化、地幔对流、岩石圈深俯冲及深源地震等地球深部动力学问题具有重要意义。一般认为,转换带地震不连续面主要与橄榄石的高压相变密切相关。最新的高温高压实验研究表明,地幔中非橄榄石组分的相变,如辉石和石榴子石的相变,对不连续面的深度和宽度以及转换带内的波速和密度梯度也起到很大的影响。另外地幔全岩成分、端员组分、温度和水也对相变和不连续面具有重要影响,这些精细的实验研究成果更好地解释了转换带地震不连续面一些相对局部的性质和变化,促进了我们对地球深部性质和动力学过程的了解。因为缺少直接来自地球深部的样品,而地球物理和地球化学研究也有它们的相对局限性,所以高温高压实验仍然是我们了解地球深部成分和性质的重要手段之一。     

Relationships of Surface Geological and Geophysical Characteristics with the Deep Structure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge According to Seismic Tomography Data

Geotectonics - A retrospective analysis of seismic tomography models with different levels of detail along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) has shown that mantle inhomogeneities depicted by variations...     

Asymmetry in oceanic crustal structure of the South China Sea basin and its implications on mantle geodynamics

ABSTRACT

We investigated the oceanic crustal structure and lithospheric dynamics of the South China Sea (SCS) basin through a comprehensive analysis of residual gravity anomaly and bathymetry combined with seismic constraints and interpretation from geodynamic modelling. We first calculated the residual mantle Bouguer anomaly (RMBA) of the oceanic crustal regions of the SCS by removing from free-air gravity anomaly the predicted gravitational attractions of water-sediment, sediment-crust, and crust-mantle interfaces, as well as the effects of lithospheric plate cooling, using the latest crustal age constraints including IODP Expedition 349 and recent deep-tow magnetic surveys. We then calculated models of the gravity-derived crustal thickness and calibrated them using the available seismic refraction profiles of the SCS. The gravity-derived crustal thickness models correlate positively with seismically determined crustal thickness values. Our analysis revealed that the isochron-averaged RMBA are consistently more negative over the northern flank of the SCS basin than the southern conjugate for magnetic anomaly chrons C8n (~25.18 Ma) to C5Dn (~17.38 Ma), implying warmer mantle and/or thicker crust over much of the northern flank. Computational geodynamic modelling yielded the following interpretations: (1) Models of asymmetric and variable spreading rates based on the relatively high-resolution deep-tow magnetic analysis would predict alternating thicker and thinner crust at the northern flank than the southern conjugate, which is inconsistent with the observed systematically thicker crust on the northern flank. (2) Models of episodic southward ridge jumps could reproduce the observed N-S asymmetry, but only for crustal age of 23.6–20 Ma. (3) Southward migration of the SCS ridge axis would predict slightly thinner crust at the northern flank, which is inconsistent with the observations. (4) Models of higher mantle temperatures of up to 25–50°C or >2% less depleted mantle sources on the northern flank could produce large enough anomalies to explain the observed N-S asymmetries.     

Do cratons preserve evidence of stagnant lid tectonics?

Evidence for episodic crustal growth extending back to the Hadean has recently prompted a number of numerically based geodynamic models that incorporate cyclic changes from stagnant lid to mobile lid tectonics. A large part of the geologic record is missing for the times at which several of these cycles are inferred to have taken place. The cratons, however, are likely to retain important clues relating to similar cycles developed in the Mesoarchean and Neoarchean. Widespread acceptance of a form of plate tectonics by ～3.2 Ga is not at odds with the sporadic occurrence of stagnant lid tectonics after this time. The concept of scale as applied to cratons, mantle plumes and Neoarchean volcanic arcs are likely to provide important constraints on future models of Earth's geodynamic evolution. The Superior Province will provide some of the most concrete evidence in this regard given that its constituent blocks may have been locked into a stagnant lid relatively soon after their formation and then assembled in the next global plate tectonic interval. Perceived complexities associated with inferred mantle plume — volcanic arc associations in the Superior Province and other cratons may be related to an over estimation of plume size. A possible stagnant lid episode between ～2.9 Ga and ～2.8 Ga is identified by previously unexplained lapses in volcanism on cratons, including the Kaapvaal, Yilgarn and Superior Province cratons. If real, then mantle dynamics associated with this episode likely eliminated any contemporaneous mantle plume incubation sites, which has important implications for widespread plumes developed at ～2.7 Ga and favours a shallow mantle source in the transition zone. The Superior Province provides a uniquely preserved local proxy for this global event and could serve as the basis for detailed numerical models in the future.     

长江中下游成矿带及典型矿集区深部结构探测——SinoProbe-03年度进展综述

大陆现今的地壳结构和物质组成是地壳经历了复杂的动力学演化过程形成的"产品",保留着演化过程中重大地质事件留下的痕迹,使用现代地球物理探测技术对这个"产品"进行成像,不仅可以了解现今的构造和物质状态,还可以推演过去曾经发生的动力学过程.长江中下游成矿带是我国重要的铁、铜多金属资源基地,其形成的深部动力学过程一直是矿床学家...     

The composition of the Earth

Compositional models of the Earth are critically dependent on three main sources of information: the seismic profile of the Earth and its interpretation, comparisons between primitive meteorites and the solar nebula composition, and chemical and petrological models of peridotite-basalt melting relationships. Whereas a family of compositional models for the Earth are permissible based on these methods, the model that is most consistent with the seismological and geodynamic structure of the Earth comprises an upper and lower mantle of similar composition, an Fe---Ni core having between 5% and 15% of a low-atomic-weight element, and a mantle which, when compared to CI carbonaceous chondrites, is depleted in Mg and Si relative to the refractory lithophile elements.The absolute and relative abundances of the refractory elements in carbonaceous, ordinary, and enstatite chondritic meteorites are compared. The bulk composition of an average CI carbonaceous chondrite is defined from previous compilations and from the refractory element compositions of different groups of chondrites. The absolute uncertainties in their refractory element compositions are evaluated by comparing ratios of these elements. These data are then used to evaluate existing models of the composition of the Silicate Earth.The systematic behavior of major and trace elements during differentiation of the mantle is used to constrain the Silicate Earth composition. Seemingly fertile peridotites have experienced a previous melting event that must be accounted for when developing these models. The approach taken here avoids unnecessary assumptions inherent in several existing models, and results in an internally consistent Silicate Earth composition having chondritic proportions of the refractory lithophile elements at 2.75 times that in CI carbonaceous chondrites. Element ratios in peridotites, komatiites, basalts and various crustal rocks are used to assess the abundances of both non-lithophile and non-refractory elements in the Silicate Earth. These data provide insights into the accretion processes of the Earth, the chemical evolution of the Earth's mantle, the effect of core formation, and indicate negligible exchange between the core and mantle throughout the geologic record (the last 3.5 Ga).The composition of the Earth's core is poorly constrained beyond its major constituents (i.e. an Fe---Ni alloy). Density contrasts between the inner and outer core boundary are used to suggest the presence ( 10 ± 5%) of a light element or a combination of elements (e.g., O, S, Si) in the outer core. The core is the dominant repository of siderophile elements in the Earth. The limits of our understanding of the core's composition (including the light-element component) depend on models of core formation and the class of chondritic meteorites we have chosen when constructing models of the bulk Earth's composition.The Earth has a bulk Fe/Al of 20 ± 2, established by assuming that the Earth's budget of Al is stored entirely within the Silicate Earth and Fe is partitioned between the Silicate Earth ( 14%) and the core ( 86%). Chondritic meteorites display a range of Fe/Al ratios, with many having a value close to 20. A comparison of the bulk composition of the Earth and chondritic meteorites reveals both similarities and differences, with the Earth being more strongly depleted in the more volatile elements. There is no group of meteorites that has a bulk composition matching that of the Earth's.     

Petrological-geophysical models of the internal structure of the lithospheric mantle of the Siberian Craton

Based on the simultaneous inversion of unique ultralong-range seismic profiles Craton, Kimberlite, Meteorite, and Rift, sourced by peaceful nuclear and chemical explosions, and petrological and geochemical data on the composition of xenoliths of garnet peridotite and fertile primitive mantle material, the first reconstruction was obtained for the thermal state and density of the lithospheric mantle of the Siberian craton at depths of 100–300 km accounting for the effects of phase transformation, anharmonicity, and anelasticity. The upper mantle beneath Siberia is characterized by significant variations in seismic velocities, relief of seismic boundaries, degree of layering, and distribution of temperature and density. The mapping of the present-day lateral and vertical variations in the thermal state of the mantle showed that temperatures in the central part of the craton at depths of 100–200 km are somewhat lower than those at the periphery and 300–400°C lower than the mean temperature of tectonically younger mantle surrounding the craton. The temperature profiles derived from the seismic models lie between the 32.5 and 35 mW/m² conductive geotherms, and the mantle heat flow was estimated as 11–17 mW/m². The depth of the base of the cratonic thermal lithosphere (thermal boundary layer) is close to the 1450 ± 100°C isotherm at 300 ± 30 km, which is consistent with published heat flow, thermobarometry, and seismic tomography data. It was shown that the density distribution in the Siberian cratonic mantle cannot be described by a single homogeneous composition, either depleted or enriched. In addition to thermal anomalies, the mantle density heterogeneities must be related to variations in chemical composition with depth. This implies significant fertilization at depths greater than 180–200 km and is compatible with the existence of chemical stratification in the lithospheric mantle of the craton. In the asthenosphere-lithosphere transition zone, the craton root material is not very different in chemical composition, thermal regime, and density from the underlying asthenosphere. It was shown that minor variations in the chemical composition of the cratonic mantle and position of chemical (petrological) boundaries and the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary cannot be reliably determined from the interpretation of seismic velocity models only.     

Crustal large-scale serpentinized mantle peridotite body in the Sulu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt,eastern China: Evidence from gravity and magnetic anomalies

From analysis of the geological and geophysical data (gravity, magnetic, seismic and petrophysics), we propose that geophysical anomalies are produced by a serpentinized mantle peridotite body (SMPB) situated in the middle to lower crust in the Sulu Belt. The SMPB was formed by crustal emplacement of mantle peridotites accompanied by ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism. Our finding suggests an emplacement mechanism for the serpentinized mantle wedge (SMW), early in the subduction process. This is different from the classic view, which holds that the serpentinized forearc mantle is formed by in situ hydration processes (Blakely et al., 2005). The petrophysical properties of the SMPB are similar to those of the serpentinized forearc mantle or SMW in modern subduction-zones worldwide, but the formation mechanisms for SMPB and SMW are different. This observation is important for understanding the geodynamic processes that operated in the large UHP metamorphic belt in the Dabie-Sulu area, eastern China.     

Anisotropic seismic properties of the upper mantle beneath the Torre Alfina area (Northern Apennines, Central Italy)

Central Italy is an active tectonic area that has been recently studied by several regional mantle, Pn and SKS, studies which revealed the presence of a strong regional anisotropy. In this paper, we present the first petrophysical results on the only mantle xenoliths from Central Italy, which place new constraints on the upper mantle structures of this region. The Torre Alfina mantle xenoliths are very small in size, from few millimetres to about 1.5 cm. They are mainly dunites and harzburgites, with subordinate lherzolites and wehrlites. Since olivine and spinel are always present, they should have crystallised in the spinel-bearing lherzolite field. Their mineralogical composition is ol+spl±opx±cpx. Both olivines and pyroxenes are present as porphyroclasts and as neoblasts. The xenoliths show different degrees of recrystallization. Geothermobarometry on these xenoliths give a temperature range of 1040±40 °C and a pressure estimate of about 1.5 GPa, corresponding to 50 to 60 km depth. Previous seismic studies have estimated the Moho to be at 20 to 25 km in this region, hence the xenoliths come from a hot mantle, probably asthenospheric, below a lithosphere of about 25 to 40 km in thickness below the Moho. We measure the crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) of olivines and pyroxenes using a SEM and the Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) technique. The CPO shows all three axes of olivine are tightly clustered: [100] axis is typically more tightly clustered than [010] and [001] is the most widely distributed axis. The fabric strength expressed by the integral J index, varies from 4.5 to 25.9, and decreases with the degree of recrystallization. We use CPO data to calculate anisotropic seismic properties of the xenoliths. They are very homogenous and probably statistically representative of the mantle below the Torre Alfina area. Vp ranges from 8.4 to 9.1 km/s, Vs₁ from 4.8 to 5.0 km/s. The seismic anisotropy is more variable; AVp ranges from 9.8% to 19.3% and AVs from 7.3% to 13.4%. The majority of the xenoliths display an orthorhombic seismic symmetry, but xenoliths with a transverse isotropic behaviour have also been observed.

We consider four geodynamic models for the source region of the xenoliths (extension, shear, upwelling, slab tilted), defined by different orientations of the structural reference frame, and we calculated for each model the variation of the seismic properties with temperature, pressure and volume fraction of orthopyroxene. After comparing this variation of calculated seismic parameters with seismic observations from the region, we form the hypothesis that the xenoliths come from either an extensional tectonic zone (lineation X and foliation plane XY horizontal) or transcurrent shear zone (lineation X horizontal and foliation plane XY vertical) and that the mantle beneath Torre Alfina is composed by 70% olivine and 30% orthopyroxene forming an anisotropic layer of about 160 or 110 km in thickness, respectively.