Scale lengths of shear velocity heterogeneity at the base of the mantle from S wave differential travel times

Journal Article · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997 · Journal of Geophysical Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/97JB00331· OSTI ID:547352

Lay, T; Garnero, E J ^[1]; Young, C J ^[2]; Gaherty, J B ^[3]

---

1. Institute of Tectonics and W. M. Keck Seismological Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California (United States)
2. Geophysics Department, Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, New Mexico (United States)
3. Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States)

Resolving the seismic velocity heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle is essential for understanding the chemical and dynamical processes operating in the boundary layer between the core and the mantle. Several regions of the lowermost mantle appear to have abrupt increases in shear velocity several hundred kilometers above the core-mantle boundary, at the top of the D{sup {prime}{prime}} layer. This structure is revealed by seismic wave energy refracted by the velocity increase, resulting in an extra arrival (Scd) in teleseismic S wavetrains at distances from 65 to 95{degree}. Anomalies in differential travel times of the extra arrival relative to direct S (which turns at shallower depths in the midmantle) or ScS (which reflects from the core-mantle boundary below the velocity increase) provide probes of the velocity heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle with better vertical resolution than provided by conventional ScS-S measurements. We explore the spatial patterns in Scd-S, ScS-Scd, and ScS-S differential time residuals for paths through the lower mantle beneath Alaska, Eurasia, and India (all being regions with coherent Scd phases) to place constraints on the strength and scale lengths of shear velocity heterogeneity and/or variable topography of the lower mantle discontinuity in these regions. The observed patterns are poorly predicted by existing global tomographic models. Significant small-scale heterogeneity, with lateral length scales of 200{endash}500 km or less, exists even within regions that display a relatively uniform D{sup {prime}{prime}} discontinuity structure over scale lengths of 1500{endash}2000 km. The strongest travel time variations are associated with structure above the D{sup {prime}{prime}} region, in contrast to common assumptions. Rapid lateral fluctuations in ScS-Scd differential times suggest that the anomalies accumulate within a relatively thin zone, less than the overall thickness of D{sup {prime}{prime}}. (Abstract Truncated)

• OSTI ID: 547352
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research Journal Issue: B5 Vol. 102; ISSN JGREA2; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
EARTH CORE
EARTH MANTLE
FLUCTUATIONS
REFRACTION
SEISMIC S WAVES
TIME DEPENDENCE
VELOCITY
WAVE PROPAGATION