Global Correlations of Mantle Structure with Crustal Tectonic Regions

Tomographic models of Earth's mantle depend on a priori estimates of crustal elastic structure, but the model prior is usually independent of other structural information about the crust, such as geochronological age and tectonic history. Therefore, the correlation of mantle models with crustal structure can provide powerful insights about the relationship of mantle heterogeneity to lithospheric dynamics and continental evolution. In a meta-analysis of more than 20 whole-mantle tomographic models published by various research groups, we estimate the correlation between upper-mantle seismic structure and crustal tectonic structure by projecting the tomographic models onto the GTR1 global tectonic regionalization. The 5 x 5 degree GTR1 map comprises three continental regions based on generalized tectonic behavior during the Phanerozoic: S (Precambrian shields and platforms), P (Phanerozoic platforms), Q (Phanerozoic orogenic zones); as well as three oceanic regions based on crustal age: A (0-25 Ma), B (25-100 Ma), and C (>100 Ma). We computed shear-velocity perturbation profiles by averaging a tomographic model over each of the six tectonic regions. For each model, we assessed the statistical significance of the inter-regional variations at a fixed depth by computing the intra-regional variance and correlation length. The regionalized velocity profiles of the upper mantle are similar among all of the tomographic models that we analyzed. Within the oceanic regions, the models display a consistent increase of shear velocity with crustal age that remains statistically significant to a depth of 200 km. The oceanic shear-velocity variations are consistent with high-resolution models derived from anisotropic inversions of multi-phase waveform data in localized regions. The profiles for regions S and P show consistent and statistically significant cratonic signatures extending below 300 km depth. In particular, the shear velocity gradients of both regions are distinctly lower than those of the convecting oceanic mantle in the depth interval 200-400 km, which also agrees with high-resolution models derived for specific cratons.