Seismic anisotropy beneath Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, revealed by shear wave splitting

Shear wave splitting analyses have been carried out using teleseismic data from broad-band seismograph stations deployed at temporary and permanent locations in Dronning Maud Land (DML), Antarctica. In most cases, the observed anisotropy can be related to major tectonic events that formed the present-day Antarctic continent. We rule out an anisotropic contribution from recent asthenospheric flow. At the Russian base Novolazarevskaya near the coast in central DML, waveform inversion suggests a two-layer model where the fast direction of the upper layer is oriented parallel to Archean fabrics in the lithosphere, whereas the anisotropy of the lower layer is interpreted to have been created during the Jurassic Gondwana break-up. Recordings at the South African base Sanae IV, however, show enigmatic results. For narrow backazimuthal segments, splitting parameters show strong variations together with a multitude of isotropic measurements, indicative of complex scattering that cannot be explained by simple one- or two-layer anisotropic models. In the interior of the continent, the data are consistent with single-layer anisotropy, but show significant spatial variations in splitting parameters. A set of temporary stations across the Heimefront shear zone in western DML yield splitting directions that we interpret as frozen anisotropy from Proterozoic assembly of the craton. An abrupt change in fast axis direction appears to mark a suture between the Grunehogna craton, a fragment of the Kalahari–Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa and the Mesoproterozoic Maudheim Province.     

Upper-mantle flow beneath French Polynesia from shear wave splitting

Upper-mantle flow beneath the South Pacific is investigated by analysing shear wave splitting parameters at eight permanent long-period and broad-band seismic stations and 10 broad-band stations deployed in French Polynesia from 2001 to 2005 in the framework of the Polynesian Lithosphere and Upper Mantle Experiment (PLUME). Despite the small number of events and the rather poor backazimuthal coverage due to the geographical distribution of the natural seismicity, upper-mantle seismic anisotropy has been detected at all stations except at Tahiti where two permanent stations with 15 yr of data show an apparent isotropy. The median value of fast polarization azimuths (N67.5°W) is parallel to the present Pacific absolute plate motion direction in French Polynesia (APM: N67°W). This suggests that the observed SKS fast polarization directions result mainly from olivine crystal preferred orientations produced by deformation in the sublithospheric mantle due to viscous entrainment by the moving Pacific Plate and preserved in the lithosphere as the plate cools. However, analysis of individual measurements highlights variations of splitting parameters with event backazimuth that imply an actual upper-mantle structure more complex than a single anisotropic layer with horizontal fast axis. A forward approach shows that a two-layer structure of anisotropy beneath French Polynesia better explains the splitting observations than a single anisotropic layer. Second-order variations in the measurements may also indicate the presence of small-scale lateral heterogeneities. The influence of plumes or fracture zones within the studied area does not appear to dominate the large-scale anisotropy pattern but may explain these second-order splitting variations across the network.     

Complex upper-mantle deformation beneath the North China Craton: implications for lithospheric thinning

The mechanism of lithospheric thinning of the North China Craton (NCC) remains controversial. To constrain the mechanism, this study investigated the upper-mantle deformation pattern of the craton by measuring shear wave splitting at the cratonic edge. The results, derived from data recorded at 47 stations, reveal a complex pattern of mantle deformation. Inside the eastern craton, the majority of fast direction trends SE–NW parallel to the tectonic extension direction accompanying with the lithospheric thinning. At the cratonic edge, 15 stations with only null splitting results indicate undetectable anisotropy beneath the stations. This may be due to upwelling or chaotic ascension of mantle flow. To the north, off the craton, large delay times and variation of splitting parameter with backazimuth are generated by the combination of lithospheric and asthenospheric anisotropy. Based on comparison of the splitting results and the predicted ones by the compelling models, it is likely that lithospheric delamination dominated the lithospheric thinning at the north edge of the NCC during the Mesozoic to Cenozoic.     

Teleseismic shear wave splitting measurements in noisyenvironments

High noise levels hamper teleseismic shear wave splitting measurements, which bandpass filtering does not always help. To investigate how robust splitting measurements are to noise, we analysed a set of synthetic records with known splitting parameters and added fixed levels of noise. In the presence of weak anisotropy, single-waveform splitting measurements are unreliable when operating with noisy data sets. A practical rule in terms of S/N ratio and splitting delay time parameters is that splitting is confidently detectable at S/N > 8, regardless of the wave's original polarization orientation. However, for the evidence of weak anisotropy to be detectable and measurable at an S/N value of 4, the backazimuth separation of the phases from the fast polarization direction needs to be higher than 20°. Stacks of individual measurements consistently yield reliable results down to S/N values of 4. Applying stacking to data from DSB (Dublin, Ireland), the fast polarization direction φ and lag time δt are 58° and 0.95  s. This orientation reflects surface trends of deformation in the area, as found elsewhere in the UK. Our result thus reinforces the proposed model that the detected anisotropy in the British Isles originates from lithospheric coherent deformation preserved from the last main tectonic episode.