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Mid-mantle deformation inferred from seismic anisotropy

Nature volume 415, pages 777–780 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

With time, convective processes in the Earth's mantle will tend to align crystals, grains and inclusions. This mantle fabric is detectable seismologically, as it produces an anisotropy in material properties—in particular, a directional dependence in seismic-wave velocity. This alignment is enhanced at the boundaries of the mantle where there are rapid changes in the direction and magnitude of mantle flow1, and therefore most observations of anisotropy are confined to the uppermost mantle or lithosphere2,3 and the lowermost-mantle analogue of the lithosphere, the D″ region4. Here we present evidence from shear-wave splitting measurements for mid-mantle anisotropy in the vicinity of the 660-km discontinuity, the boundary between the upper and lower mantle. Deep-focus earthquakes in the Tonga–Kermadec and New Hebrides subduction zones recorded at Australian seismograph stations record some of the largest values of shear-wave splitting hitherto reported. The results suggest that, at least locally, there may exist a mid-mantle boundary layer, which could indicate the impediment of flow between the upper and lower mantle in this region.

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Figure 1: Event–station combinations used to study mid-mantle anisotropy.
Figure 2: Shear-wave splitting versus epicentral distance.
Figure 3: Three models for anisotropy below the 660-km discontinuity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Fischer, G. Houseman and M. Casey for comments on the manuscript, and K. Fischer for suggesting alternative models to test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    James Wookey & J.-Michael Kendall

  2. CNRS, Université Montpellier, Montpellier, Cedex 05, 34095, France

    Guilhem Barruol

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  1. James Wookey
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  2. J.-Michael Kendall
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  3. Guilhem Barruol
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Correspondence to J.-Michael Kendall.

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Wookey, J., Kendall, JM. & Barruol, G. Mid-mantle deformation inferred from seismic anisotropy. Nature 415, 777–780 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/415777a

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