The CIELO Seismic Experiment

The Crust and lithosphere Investigation of the Easternmost expression of the Laramide Orogeny was a two-year deployment of 24 broadband, compact posthole seismometers in a linear array across the eastern half of the Wyoming craton. The experiment was designed to image the crust and upper mantle of the region to better understand the evolution of the cratonic lithosphere. In this article, we describe the motivation and objectives of the experiment; summarize the station design and installation; provide a detailed accounting of data completeness and quality, including issues related to sensor orientation and ambient noise; and show examples of collected waveform data from a local earthquake, a local mine blast, and a teleseismic event. We observe a range of seasonal variations in the long-period noise on the horizontal components (15–20 dB) at some stations that likely reflect the range of soil types across the experiment. In addition, coal mining in the Powder River basin creates high levels of short-period noise at some stations. Preliminary results from Ps receiver function analysis, shear-wave splitting analysis, and averaged P-wave delay times are also included in this report, as is a brief description of education and outreach activities completed during the experiment.

Lithospheric Shortening and Ductile Deformation in a Back-Arc Setting: South Wanganui Basin, New Zealand

<p>South Wanganui Basin (SWB), New Zealand, is located behind the southern end of the Hikurangi subduction system. One of the most marked geophysical characteristics of the basin is the -150 mGal Bouguer/isostatic gravity anomaly. Sediment fill can only partly explain this anomaly. 3-D gravity models show that the gravity anomaly associated with the basin is generally consistent with a downwarp model of the entire crust. However, the downwarp of the Moho has to be 3-4 times larger than the downwarp of the sediment-basement interface to fit the observed gravity anomaly. Hence a model of lithospheric shortening where ductile thickening of the crust increases with depth is proposed. Finite element modelling demonstrates that the crust, in order to produce the ductile downwarp, is best modelled with at least two distinct different layers. The model requires the top 15-20 km of the crust to behave purely elastic and the lower part (10 km thick) to be viscoelastic with a viscosity of 10[to the power of 21 pascal-seconds]. The existence of this ductile lower continental crust can be explained due to fluids released from the subducting slab accumulating in the lower crust. This is supported by receiver function analysis results. These results propose a 10+/-2 km thick low S-wave velocity layer in the lower crust. The vertical loading necessary to create the basin is high (up to 200MPa) and is difficult to explain by slab pull forces transmitted via a strongly coupled subduction interface alone. An additional driving mechanism proposed is a thickened mantle lithosphere inducing normal forces on the base of the crust. However, the exact origin of the basin remains a puzzling aspect. Receiver function analysis shows that the crust of the subducting Pacific plate underneath the mainland in the lower North Island is abnormally thick ([approximates]10 km) for oceanic crust. This matches with results from the 3-D gravity modelling. Further features discovered with the receiver function analysis are an up to 6 km thick low-velocity layer on top of the slab, which is interpreted as a zone of crushed crustal material with subducted sediments. Furthermore, a deep Moho (39.5+/-1.5 km) is proposed underneath the northern tip of theMarlborough sounds. Shallow seismic and gravity investigations of the southeastern corner of the SWB reveal a complex faulting regime with high-angle normal and reverse faults as well as a component of strike slip. The overall style of faulting in the SWB changes from the west to the east. There are the low-angle thrust faults of the Taranaki Fault zone in the west, the high-angle mostly reverse faults in the eastern part of the basin and the strike slip faults, with a component of vertical movement, at the eastern boundary within the Tararua Ranges.</p>

Lithospheric Shortening and Ductile Deformation in a Back-Arc Setting: South Wanganui Basin, New Zealand

<p>South Wanganui Basin (SWB), New Zealand, is located behind the southern end of the Hikurangi subduction system. One of the most marked geophysical characteristics of the basin is the -150 mGal Bouguer/isostatic gravity anomaly. Sediment fill can only partly explain this anomaly. 3-D gravity models show that the gravity anomaly associated with the basin is generally consistent with a downwarp model of the entire crust. However, the downwarp of the Moho has to be 3-4 times larger than the downwarp of the sediment-basement interface to fit the observed gravity anomaly. Hence a model of lithospheric shortening where ductile thickening of the crust increases with depth is proposed. Finite element modelling demonstrates that the crust, in order to produce the ductile downwarp, is best modelled with at least two distinct different layers. The model requires the top 15-20 km of the crust to behave purely elastic and the lower part (10 km thick) to be viscoelastic with a viscosity of 10[to the power of 21 pascal-seconds]. The existence of this ductile lower continental crust can be explained due to fluids released from the subducting slab accumulating in the lower crust. This is supported by receiver function analysis results. These results propose a 10+/-2 km thick low S-wave velocity layer in the lower crust. The vertical loading necessary to create the basin is high (up to 200MPa) and is difficult to explain by slab pull forces transmitted via a strongly coupled subduction interface alone. An additional driving mechanism proposed is a thickened mantle lithosphere inducing normal forces on the base of the crust. However, the exact origin of the basin remains a puzzling aspect. Receiver function analysis shows that the crust of the subducting Pacific plate underneath the mainland in the lower North Island is abnormally thick ([approximates]10 km) for oceanic crust. This matches with results from the 3-D gravity modelling. Further features discovered with the receiver function analysis are an up to 6 km thick low-velocity layer on top of the slab, which is interpreted as a zone of crushed crustal material with subducted sediments. Furthermore, a deep Moho (39.5+/-1.5 km) is proposed underneath the northern tip of theMarlborough sounds. Shallow seismic and gravity investigations of the southeastern corner of the SWB reveal a complex faulting regime with high-angle normal and reverse faults as well as a component of strike slip. The overall style of faulting in the SWB changes from the west to the east. There are the low-angle thrust faults of the Taranaki Fault zone in the west, the high-angle mostly reverse faults in the eastern part of the basin and the strike slip faults, with a component of vertical movement, at the eastern boundary within the Tararua Ranges.</p>

Crustal structure of La Palma and Tenerife (Canary Islands) from receiver function analysis.

&lt;p&gt;The receiver function analysis (RF) is a commonly used and well-established method to investigate crustal and mantle structures, removing the source, ray-path and instrument signatures. RF gives the unique signature of sharp seismic discontinuities and information about P and S wave velocities beneath a seismic station. In particular, using the direct P wave as a reference arrival time, and the relative arrival time of P-to-S (Ps) conversions and multiple reflections allow constraining the principal crustal structures and studying the effects of dipping interfaces and crustal layering.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We have applied RF analysis to the active volcanic islands of Tenerife and La Palma (Canary Islands). In recent years, both islands have increased their seismic activity and showed variation in geochemical parameters attributed to a magmatic-hydrothermal activity. Previous studies evidenced in La Palma and Tenerife a seismic Moho depth at 14 km and 12 and 15 km, respectively, but it is not clear because there are some others discontinuities under the stations (Lodge et al., 2012). Other RF studies indicated a depth of seismic Moho discontinuity between 16 and 30 km beneath the eastern islands to 11-15 km under the western isles, observing a thinning of the crust towards the west (Martinez-Ar&amp;#233;valo et al., 2013).&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We processed 313 teleseisms recorded by 17 stations for Tenerife and 252 teleseisms recorded by six stations for La Palma. Since the receiver functions display a significant complexity, as expected in oceanic volcanic islands, we applied a transdimensional inversion approach to image the 1D velocity structure beneath each station. We observe at least three discontinuities related with the oceanic crust and the overlying volcanic rocks layer. We compare the retrieved crustal structure with the seismicity recorded in recent years, showing how earthquakes have a radically different origin on these two islands. While in Tenerife they seem to be related to the dynamics of a shallow hydrothermal system, in La Palma they are related to magmatic intrusions in the upper mantle beneath the island.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;References&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lodge, A., Nippress, S. E. J., Rietbrock, A., Garc&amp;#237;a-Yeguas, A., &amp; Ib&amp;#225;&amp;#241;ez, J. M. (2012). Evidence for magmatic underplating and partial melt beneath the Canary Islands derived using teleseismic receiver functions. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 212, 44-54.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Martinez-Arevalo, C., de Lis Mancilla, F., Helffrich, G., &amp; Garcia, A. (2013). Seismic evidence of a regional sublithospheric low velocity layer beneath the Canary Islands. Tectonophysics, 608, 586-599.&lt;/p&gt;