High attenuation and the low-velocity zone

Both elastic and anelastic properties of the earth simultaneously play an important role in the high-attenuation, low-velocity zone (H.A.L.V.Z.), in the upper mantle, where the drop of velocity appears to be correlated with high attenuation. Internal friction studies and experiments suggest the possibility of relaxation mechanisms occurring within the H.A.L.V.Z. and clearly it is important to compare assumptions of relaxation processes with seismic data and investigate the consequences of such a model. A variety of physical explanations of the H.A.L.V.Z. are discussed and it is concluded that three mechanisms could produce the H.A.L.V.Z., namely partial melting, viscous grain-boundary effects and dislocation-impurity interactions. Only more experiments and more data on the Q-structure of the H.A.L.V.Z. would allow us to decide which is the most probable of these mechanisms.