Upper lithospheric seismic velocity structure across the Pripyat Trough and the Ukrainian Shield along the EUROBRIDGE'97 profile

We present new results on the structure resulting from Palaeoproterozoic terrane accretion and later formation of one of the aulacogens in the East European Platform. Seismic data has been acquired along the 530-km-long, N–S-striking EUROBRIDGE'97 traverse across Sarmatia, a major crustal segment of the East European Craton. The profile extends across the Ukrainian Shield from the Devonian Pripyat Trough, across the Palaeoproterozoic Volyn Block and the Korosten Pluton, into the Archaean Podolian Block. Seismic waves from chemical explosions at 18 shot points at approximately 30-km intervals were recorded in two deployments by 120 mobile three-component seismographs at 3–4 km nominal station spacing. The data has been interpreted by use of two-dimensional tomographic travel time inversion and ray trace modelling. The high data quality allows modelling of the P- and S-wave velocity structure along the profile. There are pronounced differences in seismic velocity structure of the crust and uppermost mantle between the three main tectonic provinces traversed by the profile: (i) the Pripyat Trough is a ca. 4-km-deep sedimentary basin, fully located in the Osnitsk–Mikashevichi Igneous Belt in the northern part of the profile. The velocity structure is typical for a Precambrian craton, but is underlain by a ca. 5-km-thick lowest crustal layer of high velocity. The development of the Pripyat Trough appears to have only affected the upper crust without noticeable thinning of the whole crust; this may be explained by a rheologically strong lithosphere at the time of formation of the trough. (ii) Very high seismic velocity and Vp/Vs ratio characterise the Volyn Block and Korosten Pluton to a depth of 15 km and probably also the lowest crust. The values are consistent with an intrusive body of mafic composition in the upper crust that formed from bimodal melts derived from the mantle and the lower crust. (iii) The Podolian Block is close to a typical cratonic velocity structure, although it is characterised by relatively low seismic velocity and Vp/Vs ratio. A pronounced SW-dipping mantle reflector from Moho to at least 70 km depth may represent the Proterozoic suture between Sarmatia and Volgo–Uralia, the structure from terrane accretion, or a later shear zone in the upper mantle. The sub-Moho P-wave seismic velocity is high everywhere along the profile, with the exception of the area above the dipping reflector. This velocity change further supports a plate tectonic origin of the dipping mantle reflector. The profile demonstrates that structure from Palaeoproterozoic plate tectonic processes are still identifiable in the lithosphere, even where younger metamorphic equilibration of the crust has taken place.     

Special Contribution: ALP 2002 Seismic Experiment

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica -     

Crustal model of the Bransfield Rift, West Antarctica, from detailed OBS refraction experiments

The first detailed deep seismic refraction study in the Bransfield Strait, West Antarctica, using sensitive OBSs (ocean bottom seismographs) was carried out successfully during the Antarctic summer of 1990/1991. The experiment focused on the deep crustal structure beneath the axis of the Bransfield Rift. Seismic profile DSS-20 was located exactly in the Bransfield Trough, which is suspected to be a young rift system. Along the profile, five OBSs were deployed at spacings of 50-70 km. 51 shots were fired along the 310 km profile. This paper gives the first presentation of the results. A detailed model of the crustal structure was obtained by modelling the observed traveltimes and amplitudes using a 2-D ray-tracing technique. The uppermost (sedimentary?) cover, with velocities of 2.0-5.5 km s⁻¹, reaches a depth of up to 8 km. Below this, a complex with velocities of 6.4-6.8 km s⁻¹ is observed. The presence of a high-velocity body, with V _p= 7.3-7.7 km s⁻¹, was detected in the 14-32 km depth range in the central part of the profile. These inhomogeneities can be interpreted as a stage of back-arc spreading and stretching of the continental crust, coinciding with the Deception-Bridgeman volcanic line. Velocities of 8.1 km s⁻¹, characteristic of the Moho, are observed along the profile at a depth of 30-32 km.     

Crustal and uppermost mantle S-wave velocity below the East European Craton in northern Poland from the inversion of ambient-noise records

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The P-wave velocities (Vp) within the East European Craton in Poland are well known through several seismic experiments which permitted to build a...     

Searching for Regional Crustal Velocity-Density Relations with the Use of 2-D Gravity Modelling – Central Europe Case

In this paper we search for a reference relation between seismic P-wave velocity V and density ρ _ref for the continental crust. Based on the results of modern seismic experiments, we compiled 2-D seismic models into a network of four, each about 1100–1400 km long, continental-scale seismic transects cutting all main tectonic units in Central Europe. The Moho depth (about 52 km beneath the TESZ in SE Poland, to about 25 km beneath the Pannonian Basin) and the crustal structure of this area are characterised by a large variation. This structural variation provides an interesting basis for gravity studies and especially for analysing the difference of the density structure between two major tectonic provinces of distinctive age difference: Precambrian and Phanerozoic. The 2-D gravity modelling applied for crustal cross-sections representing the regional structure, based on a unified gravity anomaly map of the area, allows for a stable determination of some general features of the regional reference velocity-density relation for the continental crust. In general three major seismo-petrological types of rocks can be distinguished: sediments, crystalline crust and mantle. In compacted sediments the reference velocity-density relation is well described by the Gardner or Nafe-Drake model. Calculated gravity anomalies, using unified velocity-density relation for the whole crystalline crust, well describe observed anomalies, with an average difference of 14 mGal. However, calculated gravity anomalies, using separated velocity-density relations for the crystalline crust of Precambrian and Phanerozoic Europe, describe observed anomalies better than for the entire crust, with an average difference 12 mGal. The most important feature of these relations is the large differentiation of the derivative dρ _ref /dV in the crystalline crust, being about 0.3 g s/m⁴ for Precambrian, and about 0.1 g s/m⁴ for the Phanerozoic crystalline crust. The modelling suggests a very small density value in the uppermost mantle ρ = 3.11 g/cm³ below the younger area, while for the older area it is ρ = 3.3 g/cm³.     

Special Contribution: CELEBRATION 2000 Seismic Experiment

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica -     

Differences in the Crustal and Uppermost Mantle Structure of the Bohemian Massif from Teleseismic Receiver Functions

A target of our study was the Bohemian Massif in Central Europe that was emplaced during the Variscan orogeny. We used teleseismic records from ten broadband stations lying within and around the massif. Different techniques of receiver function interpretation were applied, including 1-D inversion of R- and Q-components, forward modelling of V _s velocity, and simultaneous determination of Moho depth and Poissons ratio in the crust. These results provide new, independent information about the distribution of S wave velocity down to about 60 km depth. In the area of Bohemian Massif, the crustal thickness varies from 29 km in the NW to 40 km in the SE. A relatively simple velocity structure with gradually increasing velocities in the crust and uppermost mantle is observed in the eastern part of the Bohemian Massif. The western part of the massif is characterized by more complicated structure with low S wave velocities in the upper crust, as well as in the uppermost mantle. This could be related to tectono-magmatic activity in the Eger rift that started in the uppermost Cretaceous and was active in the West Bohemia-Vogland area till the late Cenozoic.     

Frequency analysis of the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake using spectral seismograms

Frequency analysis of the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 2004, one of the most significant and best-recorded earthquakes, is based on spectral seismograms obtained from their broadband seismograms. The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake is found to have a wide-range frequency content of P-wave radiation during the rupturing process. On the basis of stacking spectral seismograms we distinguished four time events of the rupturing process of a total length of about 540 s. The frequency, f _max, is the highest for the first event (0.163 Hz in time interval 0–88 s), lowest for the second — which is the strongest (0.075 Hz in time interval 88–204 s). For third and fourth events frequencies are similar (0.089 and 0.082 Hz in time intervals 204–452 and 452–537 s, respectively). The frequency also shows an azimuthal dependence (±0.02 Hz). Azimuths for which the frequency, f _max, has maximum and minimum values are 203–222° and 23–42°, respectively. These observations are discussed in relation to previously published papers on this topic.