Adjoint traveltime tomography unravels a scenario of horizontal mantle flow beneath the North China craton.

ABSTRACT: The North China craton (NCC) was dominated by tectonic extension from late Cretaceous to Cenozoic, yet seismic studies on the relationship between crust extension and lithospheric mantle deformation are scarce. Here we present a three dimensional radially anisotropic model of NCC derived from adjoint traveltime tomography to address this issue. We find a prominent low S-wave velocity anomaly at lithospheric mantle depths beneath the Taihang Mountains, which extends eastward with a gradually decreasing amplitude. The horizontally elongated low-velocity anomaly is also featured by a distinctive positive radial anisotropy (V_SH > V_SV). Combining geodetic and other seismic measurements, we speculate the presence of a horizontal mantle flow beneath central and eastern NCC,

SUBMITTER: Dong X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8206337 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature