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Seismic anisotropy reveals crustal flow driven by mantle vertical loading in the Pacific NW.

ABSTRACT: Buoyancy anomalies within Earth's mantle create large convective currents that are thought to control the evolution of the lithosphere. While tectonic plate motions provide evidence for this relation, the mechanism by which mantle processes influence near-surface tectonics remains elusive. Here, we present an azimuthal anisotropy model for the Pacific Northwest crust that strongly correlates with high-velocity structures in the underlying mantle but shows no association with the regional mantle flow field. We suggest that the crustal anisotropy is decoupled from horizontal basal tractions and, instead, created by upper mantle vertical loading, which generates pressure gradients that drive channelized flow in the mid-lower crust. We then demonstrate the interplay between mantle heterogeneities and lithosphere dynamics by predicting the viscous crustal flow that is driven by local buoyancy sources within the upper mantle. Our findings reveal how mantle vertical load distribution can actively control crustal deformation on a scale of several hundred kilometers.

SUBMITTER: Castellanos JC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7439309 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Seismic anisotropy reveals crustal flow driven by mantle vertical loading in the Pacific NW.

Castellanos Jorge C JC Perry-Houts Jonathan J Clayton Robert W RW Kim YoungHee Y Stanciu A Christian AC Niday Bart B Humphreys Eugene E

Science advances 20200708 28

Buoyancy anomalies within Earth's mantle create large convective currents that are thought to control the evolution of the lithosphere. While tectonic plate motions provide evidence for this relation, the mechanism by which mantle processes influence near-surface tectonics remains elusive. Here, we present an azimuthal anisotropy model for the Pacific Northwest crust that strongly correlates with high-velocity structures in the underlying mantle but shows no association with the regional mantle ...[more]

PMID: 32832611

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Project description:Monitoring regional terrestrial water load deformation is of great significance to the dynamic maintenance and hydrodynamic study of the regional benchmark framework. In view of the lack of a spatial interpolation method based on the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) elevation time series for obtaining terrestrial water load deformation information, this paper proposes to employ a CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations) network combined with environmental loading data, such as ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) atmospheric data, the GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) hydrological model, and MSLA (Mean Sea Level Anomaly) data. Based on the load deformation theory and spherical harmonic analysis method, we took 38 CORS stations in southeast Zhejiang province as an example and comprehensively determined the vertical deformation of the crust as caused by regional terrestrial water load changes from January 2015 to December 2017, and then compared these data with the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite. The results show that the vertical deformation value of the terrestrial water load in southeast Zhejiang, as monitored by the CORS network, can reach a centimeter, and the amplitude changes from -1.8 cm to 2.4 cm. The seasonal change is obvious, and the spatial distribution takes a ladder form from inland to coastal regions. The surface vertical deformation caused by groundwater load changes in the east-west-south-north-central sub-regions show obvious fluctuations from 2015 to 2017, and the trends of the five sub-regions are consistent. The amplitude of surface vertical deformation caused by groundwater load change in the west is higher than that in the east. We tested the use of GRACE for the verification of CORS network monitoring results and found a relatively consistent temporal distribution between both data sets after phase delay correction on GRACE, except for in three months-November in 2015, and January and February in 2016. The results show that the comprehensive solution based on the CORS network can effectively improve the monitoring of crustal vertical deformation during regional terrestrial water load change.

Dataset Information

Seismic anisotropy reveals crustal flow driven by mantle vertical loading in the Pacific NW.

Publications

Seismic anisotropy reveals crustal flow driven by mantle vertical loading in the Pacific NW.

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