High-resolution 3-D S-velocity structure in the D″ region at the western margin of the Pacific LLSVP: Evidence for small-scale plumes and paleoslabs

Yuki Suzuki*, Kenji Kawai, Robert J. Geller, Satoru Tanaka, Weerachai Siripunvaraporn, Songkhun Boonchaisuk, Sutthipong Noisagool, Yasushi Ishihara, Taewoon Kim

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Although previous tomographic studies found a large low S-velocity province (LLSVP) in the lowermost mantle beneath the Pacific, due to a lack of resolution it was unclear whether the LLSVP consists of clusters of small-scale low-velocity anomalies or large-scale anomalies. We recently deployed a seismic-array in Thailand which provides a dataset with wide azimuthal coverage of the western Pacific LLSVP. We analyze the new dataset using waveform inversion, and find high-velocity anomalies extending vertically to a height of ~400 km above the core-mantle boundary (CMB) beneath the Philippine Sea and small-scale low-velocity patches with a diameter of ~300 km at the CMB beneath New Guinea. The locations of the high-velocity anomalies are consistent with the past Izanagi-plate subduction boundary, and the low-velocity anomalies can be interpreted as a small-scale plume cluster. Hence we conclude that vertical flow (upwelling plumes and downwelling of slabs) is dominant in the lowermost mantle beneath the western Pacific region.

Original languageEnglish
Article number106544
JournalPhysics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors
Volume307
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Oct
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Geophysics
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
  • Space and Planetary Science

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