Crustal Seismic Anisotropy: Implications for Understanding Crustal Dynamics

The Nanga Parbat - Haramosh massif, in the core of the western syntaxis of the Himalaya, represents a unique exposure of mid-lower continental crust from beneath a collisional orogen. The exhumed core of the massif forms a large scale antiformal structure with axial orientation of N10E and associated lineation directed north-south with near-vertical dips. Laboratory measurements of seismic velocity on a suite of quartzofeldspathic gneisses from the massif show a relatively strong degree of anisotropy, up to 12.5% for compressional waves and up to 21% for shear waves. The degree of velocity anisotropy is primarily a function of mica content and rock fabric strength. The strong anisotropy measured in these rocks should be observable in recorded seismic field data and provides a means of mapping rock fabric at depth provided the rock fabric is coherent over appropriate length scales. An IRIS/PASSCAL deployment of 50 short period instruments recorded local and regional earthquakes to characterize seismicity and determine crustal structure beneath the massif as part of a multidisciplinary NSF Continental Dynamics study investigating the active tectonic processes responsible for exhumation and crustal reworking at Nanga Parbat. Microseismicity at Nanga Parbat is distributed along strike beneath the massif but exhibits a sharp drop-off laterally into adjacent terranes and with depth. This data set is ideal for studying crustal seismic anisotropy because the raypaths are restricted to the crust, sharp onsets in P and S allow for clear identification of arrivals, and source-receiver geometries sample a range of azimuths with respect to structure. Preliminary analysis indicates that the majority of local events exhibit some degree of splitting and that splitting patterns, while complicated, are coherent. While splitting delay normally increases with distance traveled through anisotropic material, the range of delay times can be due to heterogeneity in composition, lateral variation in % anisotropy, changes in orientation of the regional foliation within the massif, and velocity (splitting) variance due to non-axial propagation through a wide range of event-station azimuths. Because the composition of the massif is basically homogeneous, the rock fabric is well developed, and the structure well constrained, this data set is ideal for studying and quantifying the affect of non-axial propagation through regional foliation. This type of analysis has important implications for understanding crustal dynamics. Vp, Vs, and Vp/Vs ratios are typically used to infer both lithology and rheology of subsurface materials and to provide constraints for thermo-mechanical models of deformation. Current tomography codes do not generally account for anisotropic effects and may potentially under or over estimate velocity structure in the crust. At Nanga Parbat, a prominent low-velocity zone is mapped beneath the core of the massif. The magnitude and extent of this zone constrains crustal flow paths focusing crustal strain, exhumation, and potential zones of partial melting in the crust. Accurate determination of velocity structure is clearly important to understand crustal structure and modification during orogenesis.