Structure in the lowermost mantle from seismic anisotropy
Abstract
Anisotropy is well established in D'' and places important constraints on the nature and dynamics of this elusive region. We present the results of a recent study probing anisotropy in D'', over a large area, using shear wave splitting on core-reflected ScS phases. Our dataset contains laterally continuous coverage beneath a large swath of east Asia - extending about 3000 km along the CMB - from south-east Asia to the north-east Pacific. The centre of this area represents a large down-welling core for subduction that has occurred over several super-continent cycles. In the centre of this region we observe a clear VSV}>V{SH fabric, in direct conflict with the prevailing view that fast, `cold', regions are associated with VSH}>V{SV fabric. Furthermore, systematic rotation of the fast axis traces out an apparent dome-like feature extending over thousands of km, albeit complicated by some short-scale variability. The dataset also samples regions where slab material may be actively impinging on the CMB; and a region corresponding to the edge of the Pacific LLSVP. We interpret our results in light of a combined computational geodynamic-petrofabric-seismic study designed to test the possibility that anisotropy is caused by the lattice preferred orientation of post-perovskite. We take into account the important finite-frequency effects of wave propagation in our synthetics by using the SPECFEM3D_GLOBE code; this can lead to drastically different results when compared to the less accurate ray theory.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFMDI43C..02W
- Keywords:
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- 1038 Mantle processes;
- GEOCHEMISTRY;
- 1042 Mineral and crystal chemistry;
- GEOCHEMISTRY;
- 3924 High-pressure behavior;
- MINERAL PHYSICS;
- 7208 Mantle;
- SEISMOLOGY