Insights Into Caribbean Lithospheric Structure From S Wave Receiver Functions

BOLIVAR (Broadband Ocean-Land Investigation of Venezuela and the Antilles arc Region) was aimed at investigating the interplay between the lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle of the Caribbean and the South America plates. The oblique collision of the Caribbean plate migrating eastwards has created a complicated deformation zone with strike-slip, compressional and extensional structures along the Caribbean and South America boundary. Earlier results with P receiver functions revealed strong variations in crustal thickness ranging from 15 km beneath the Caribbean Sea to 55 km beneath Venezuela. However, one of the fundamental questions not yet resolved concerns the thickness of the lithosphere in this region. Using the S wave receiver function technique, we analyzed seismograms from some 100 events at epicentral distances of 55-125 degree. The seismograms were rotated and deconvolved to isolate S-to-P conversions from the incident S wave. These were subsequently stacked after their respective conversion points and mapped into the subsurface. A strong negative phase is associated with the S-to-P conversion from the base of the lithosphere. Analysis of these data is ongoing, but we expect to see large variation in lithospheric thickness as the BOLIVAR array spans the transition from the Caribbean with OBS stations to the interior of South America (Guyana Shield).