Mantle flow in the South Sandwich subduction environment from source-side shear wave splitting

The occurrence of seismic anisotropy in the Earth's upper mantle is a global phenomenon related to subcrustal deformation and flow processes. The shear wave splitting analysis method has led to a global set of anisotropy maps mainly derived from receiver‐side analysis. Remote places with few se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2008-02, Vol.35 (3), p.n/a
Main Authors: Müller, Christian, Bayer, Bettina, Eckstaller, Alfons, Miller, Heinrich
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
mantle flow
Marine
source-side shear wave splitting
South Sandwich subduction zone
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Summary:The occurrence of seismic anisotropy in the Earth's upper mantle is a global phenomenon related to subcrustal deformation and flow processes. The shear wave splitting analysis method has led to a global set of anisotropy maps mainly derived from receiver‐side analysis. Remote places with few seismometers deployed remain unexamined. Source‐side splitting analysis allows mapping of mantle fabrics in these regions. Here, we investigate seismic anisotropy in the South Sandwich Islands subduction environment. Core‐reflected ScS waves recorded at the Neumayer seismograph network are corrected for well constrained receiver anisotropy and then analysed for source anisotropy. Sub‐slab mantle minerals are aligned horizontally almost parallel to the trench indicating a westward flow around the subducting slab. This is consistent with a model of horizontal mantle flow due to slab rollback that was previously inferred from marine and geochemical studies in the back‐arc region.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2007GL032411