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Rapid changes in slab geometry are typically associated with fragmentation of the subducted plate; however, continuous curvature of the slab is also possible. The transition from flat to normal subduction in southern Peru is one such geometrical change. The morphology of the subducted Nazca Plate along this transition is explored using intraslab earthquakes recorded by temporary regional seismic arrays. Observations of a gradual increase in slab dip coupled with a lack of any gaps or vertical offsets in the intraslab seismicity suggest warping of the slab. Concentrations of focal mechanisms at orientations which are indicative of slab bending are also observed along the change in slab geometry. The presence of a thin ultra-slow velocity layer (USL) atop the horizontal Nazca slab is identified and located. The lateral extent of this USL is coincident with the margin of the projected linear continuation of the subducting Nazca Ridge, implying a causal relationship wherein increased hydration of the ridge results in the formation of the USL downdip. Waveform modelling of the 2-D structure in southern Peru using a finite-difference algorithm provides constraints on the velocity and geometry of the slab's seismic structure and confirms the absence of any tears in the slab. The seismicity and structural evidence suggests smooth contortion of the Nazca Plate along the transition from flat to normal subduction. The slab is estimated to have experienced 10 per cent strain in the along-strike direction across this transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower and upper bounds for present deformation rates across faults in central California between the San Andreas Fault and Pacific coast are estimated from a new Global Positioning System (GPS) velocity field for central, western California in light of geodetic evidence presented in a companion paper for slow, but significant deformation within the Pacific Plate between young seafloor in the eastern Pacific and older seafloor elsewhere on the plate. Transects of the GPS velocity field across the San Andreas Fault between Parkfield and San Juan Buatista, where fault slip is dominated by creep and the velocity field thus reveals the off-fault deformation, show that GPS sites in westernmost California move approximately parallel to the fault at an average rate of 3.4 ± 0.4 mm yr-1 relative to the older interior of the Pacific Plate, but only 1.8 ± 0.6 mm yr-1 if the Pacific Plate frame of reference is corrected for deformation within the plate. Modelled interseismic elastic deformation from the weakly coupled creeping segment of the San Andreas Fault is an order-of-magnitude too small to explain the southeastward motions of coastal sites in western California. Similarly, models that maximize residual viscoelastic deformation from the 1857 Fort Tejon and 1906 San Francisco earthquakes mismatch both the rates and directions of GPS site motions in central California relative to the Pacific Plate. Neither thus explains the site motions southwest of the San Andreas fault, indicating that the site motions measure deformation across faults and folds outboard of the San Andreas Fault. The non-zero site velocities thus constitute strong evidence for active folding and faulting outboard from the creeping segment of the San Andreas Fault and suggest limits of 0-2 mm yr-1 for the Rinconada Fault slip rate and 1.8 ± 0.6 to 3.4 ± 0.4 mm yr-1 for the slip rates integrated across near-coastal faults such as the Hosgri, San Gregorio and San Simeon faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report and analyse the tsunami recorded in the northwestern Indian Ocean at the Makran region following the Mw 7.7 Pakistan inland strike-slip earthquake on 2013 September 24. We analyse eleven tide gauge records as well as one DART record of this tsunami and perform numerical modelling of the tsunami that would be triggered by a range of possible sources. The tsunami registered a maximum wave height of 109 cm at the Qurayat tide gauge station (Oman). The dominant period of the tsunami was around 12 min, although wavelet analysis showed that parts of the tsunami energy were partitioned into a slightly wider period range of 7 and 16 min. Tsunami backward ray tracing showed that the tsunami source was possibly located offshore Jiwani (Pakistan) and that the tsunami was most likely triggered by the main shock. The aftershocks are distributed in the inland region and the coseismic vertical and horizontal displacements are also limited inland implying that the tsunami was generated by secondary sources triggered by the earthquake. Different possible tsunami sources including a mud volcano at the location of the newly generated island, and a mud volcano or diapir at offshore deep water were examined through numerical modelling and all failed to reproduce the observed waveforms. Numerical modelling showed that a submarine slump with a source dimension of about 10–15 km and a thickness of about 100 m located at 61.49°E and 24.62°N, that is, about 60–70 km off the Jiwani coast (Pakistan), seems capable of reasonably reproducing the wave amplitudes and periods of the observed tsunami waveforms. This event was the second instrumentally recorded tsunami in the region, after the Makran tsunami of 1945 November, and provides evidence for a hazard from landslide/slump-generated waves following seismic activity in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High Atlas and the Anti Atlas are fold-belts linked to former and still ongoing continent–continent collisions. Despite their high elevation, studies indicate a lack of a deep crustal root (<40 km) while the lithosphere underneath is thinned (<100 km). Previous explanations for this thinning include asthenospheric upwelling due to small-scale convection or a small plume. We use data recorded at stations in SW Morocco to analyse teleseismic P- and S-wave receiver functions. Our study yields a crustal thickness ranging from 24 km near the Atlantic coast to 44 km beneath the High Atlas with an average crustal Vp/Vs ratio of 1.77 in the entire region. A crustal thickness of 40 km cannot entirely support the topography in this region. Furthermore, we find the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary at ∼80 km depth. The lithosphere beneath SW Morocco is thinner than beneath northern Morocco (>150 km). This lithospheric thinning supports the theory of thermal compensation of the mountain ranges. The mantle transition zone thickness amounts to 240 ± 10 km. The transition zone seems to be slightly thinned which might indicate a higher mantle temperature in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistive forces along convergent plate boundaries have a major impact on surface deformation, most visibly at collisional plate boundaries. Although quantification of these forces is key to understanding the evolution and present state of mountain belts, they remain highly uncertain due to the complexity of plate boundary structures and rheologies. In previous studies of the Eurasian Plate, we have analysed the balance of plate boundary forces, tractions resulting from lithosphere–mantle coupling, and intraplate variations in topography and density structure. This yielded a range of acceptable force distributions. In this study, we investigate to which extent the observed present-day stress field provides further constraints on the distribution of forces.We address the dynamics of the Eurasian Plate as a whole. This enables us to base our analysis on mechanical equilibrium of a tectonic plate and to evaluate all forces as part of an internally consistent set of forces driving and deforming Eurasia. We incorporate tractions from convective mantle flow modelling in a lithospheric model in which edge and lithospheric body forces are modelled explicitly and compute resulting stresses in a homogeneous elastic thin shell. Intraplate stress observations used are from the World Stress Map project. Eurasia's stress field turns out to be particularly sensitive to the distribution of collision forces on the plate's southern margin and, to a much lesser extent, to lithospheric density structure and tractions from mantle flow. Stress observations require collision forces on the India–Eurasia boundary of 7.0–10.5 TN m−1 and on the Arabia–Eurasia boundary of 1.3–2.7 TN m−1. Implication of mechanical equilibrium of the plate is that forces on the contacts with the African and Australian plates amount to 1.0–2.5 and 0–1.3 TN m−1, respectively. We use our results to assess the validity of the classical view that the mean elevation of an orogenic plateau can be taken as a measure of the magnitude of the compressive (in this case: collision-related) forces involved. For both the Tibetan and the Iranian plateaus, two plateaus with significantly different average elevations, we find that the horizontal force derived from the excess gravitational potential energy (collapse force) is in balance with the collision force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the use of on-land GPS observations to detect deformation due to tsunami propagation near source regions of large interplate earthquakes. Here, we focus on the Mw 9 Tohoku-oki earthquake, which occurred around 14:46 (JST) on 2011 March 11. We consider GPS data in the time span 14:54–15:22 (JST) along the Sanriku coast, where the tsunami had the largest amplitude. The displacement data shows the signatures of large aftershocks as well as post-seismic fault slip (afterslip). These effects are particularly evident in the east component. From the horizontal displacement vectors, we construct a simple fault model for the early phase of the afterslip. Mean slip velocity of the early afterslip reaches 0.1 mm s−1. By compiling the early afterslip velocity of recent interplate earthquakes around that region, we find its increasing trend with the main shock magnitude. This scaling relation may reflect higher stressing rates at edges of larger main shock faults. Separately, we forward calculate land deformation due to tsunami height changes based on a tsunami simulation. Tsunami-induced deformation is only evident in the vertical direction at coastal GPS stations. The predicted subsidence amounts at some coastal stations can account for a large portion of the residuals between the observation and the modelled deformation due to the fault slip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The space–time distribution of coseismic slip of the 2011 February 21, Mw 6.2, Christchurch earthquake, New Zealand, is explored, differently from all previous studies, through a joint inversion of geodetic and strong-motion data. The geodetic data consist of both global position system (GPS), from campaign and continuous stations, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferograms from two ascending satellite tracks. The strong motion data consist of 10 stations located in the Canterbury plains, these stations offering a good azimuthal coverage of the event.The kinematic rupture model for the analysed event was obtained using the parametrization and non-linear inversion scheme proposed by Delouis et al. In particular, for any subfault we explore for the local source time function (local slip history), slip direction and rupture onset time. The geometry of the fault plane used for the kinematic inversion is inferred from the analysis of the geodetic data. To validate our results we perform a resolution study for both the single and complete data sets, and an errors analysis of our final kinematic rupture model.Considering the complexity highlighted by superficial deformation data, we adopted a fault model consisting of two partially overlapping segments, with dimensions 15 × 11 and 7 × 7 km2, corresponding to different faulting types. This two-fault model, instead of single-fault model, is needed to reconstruct the complex shape of the superficial deformation data. The total seismic moment resulting from the joint inversion is 3.0 × 1025 dyne · cm (Mw = 6.2) with an average rupture velocity of 2.0 km s–1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, the development of the surface and satellite geodetic and geophysical observations brought a new insights into the seismic cycle, documenting new features of inter-, co-, and post-seismic processes. In particular since 2002 satellite mission GRACE provides monthly models of the global gravity field with unprecedented accuracy showing temporal variations of the Earth's gravity field, including those caused by mass redistribution associated with earthquake processes. When combined with GPS measurements, these new data have allowed to assess the relative importance of afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation after the Sumatra 26.12.2004 earthquake. Indeed the observed post-seismic crustal displacements were fitted well by a viscoelastic relaxation model assuming Burgers body rheology for the asthenosphere (60–220 km deep) with a transient viscosity as low as 4 × 1017 Pas and constant ∼1019 Pas steady state viscosity in the 60–660-km depth range. However, even the low-viscosity asthenosphere provides the amplitude of strain which gravity effect does not exceed 50 per cent of the GRACE gravity variations, thus additional localized slip of about 1 m was suggested at downdip extension of the coseismic rupture. Post-seismic slip at coseismic rupture or its downdip extension has been suggested by several authors but the mechanism of the post-seismic fault propagation has never been investigated numerically. Depth and size of localized slip area as well as rate and time decay during the post-seismic stage were either assigned a priory or estimated by fitting real geodesy or gravity data. In this paper we investigate post-seismic rupture propagation by modelling two consequent stages. First, we run a long-term, geodynamic simulation to self-consistently produce the initial stress and temperature distribution. At the second stage, we simulate a seismic cycle using results of the first step as initial conditions. The second short-term simulation involves three substeps, including additional stress accumulation after part of the subduction channel was locked; spontaneous coseismic slip; formation and development of damage zones producing afterslip. During the last substep post-seismic stress leads to gradual ∼1 m slip localized at three faults around ∼100-km downdip extension of the coseismic rupture. We used the displacement field caused by the slip to calculate pressure and density variations and to simulate gravity field variations. Wavelength of calculated gravity anomaly fits well to that of the real data and its amplitude provides about 60 per cent of the observed GRACE anomaly. Importantly, the surface displacements caused by the estimated afterslip are much smaller than those registered by GPS networks. As a result cumulative effect of Burgers rheology viscoelastic relaxation (which explains measured GPS displacements and about a half of gravity variations) plus post-seismic slip predicted by damage rheology model (which causes much smaller surface displacements but provides another half of the GRACE gravity variations) fits well to both sets of the real data. Hence, the presented numerical modelling based on damage rheology supports the process of post-seismic downdip rupture propagation previously hypothesized from the GRACE gravity data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key to understand many geodynamic processes is studying the associated large deformation fields. Finite deformation can be measured in the field by using geological strain markers giving the logarithmic strain f = log 10(R), where R is the ellipticity of the strain ellipse. It has been challenging to accurately quantify finite deformation of geodynamic models for inhomogeneous and time-dependent large deformation cases. We present a new formulation invoking a 2-D marker-in-cell approach. Mathematically, one can describe finite deformation by a coordinate transformation to a Lagrangian reference frame. For a known velocity field the deformation gradient tensor, F, can be calculated by integrating the differential equation DtFij = LikFkj, where L is the velocity gradient tensor and Dt the Lagrangian derivative. The tensor F contains all information about the minor and major semi-half axes and orientation of the strain ellipse and the rotation. To integrate the equation centrally in time and space along a particle's path, we use the numerical 2-D finite difference code FDCON in combination with a marker-in-cell approach. For a sufficiently high marker density we can accurately calculate F for any 2-D inhomogeneous and time-dependent creeping flow at any point for a deformation f up to 4. Comparison between the analytical and numerical solution for the finite deformation within a Poiseuille–Couette flow shows an error of less than 2 per cent for a deformation up to f = 1.7. Moreover, we determine the finite deformation and strain partitioning within Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities (RTIs) of different viscosity and layer thickness ratios. These models provide a finite strain complement to the RTI benchmark of van Keken et al. Large finite deformation of up to f = 4 accumulates in RTIs within the stem and near the compositional boundaries. Distinction between different stages of diapirism shows a strong correlation between a maximum occurring deformation of f = 1, 3 and 4, and the early, intermediate and late stages of diapirism, respectively. Furthermore, we find that the overall strain of a RTI is concentrated in the less viscous regions. Thus, spatial distributions and magnitudes of finite deformation may be used to identify stages and viscosity ratios of natural cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We invert for the state of stress in the southern California crust using a catalogue of high quality earthquake focal mechanisms (1981–2010). The stress field is best resolved where seismicity rates are high and sufficient data are available to constrain the stress field across most of the region. From the stress field, we determine the maximum horizontal compressive stress (SHmax) orientations and the style of faulting across southern California. The trend of SHmax exhibits significant regional and local spatial heterogeneities. The regional trend of SHmax varies from north along the San Andreas system to NNE to the east in the Eastern California Shear Zone as well as to the west, within the Continental Borderland and the Western Transverse Ranges. The transition zones from one state of stress to the other occur over a distance of only a few kilometres, following a trend from Yucca Valley to Imperial Valley to the east, and the western edge of the Peninsular Ranges to the west. The local scale heterogeneities in the SHmax trend include NNW trends along the San Andreas Fault near Cajon Pass, Tejon Pass and the Cucapah Range, as well as NNE trends near the northern San Jacinto Fault and the Wheeler Ridge area. The style of faulting exhibits similar complexity, ranging from predominantly normal faulting in the high Sierra Nevada, to strike-slip faulting along the San Andreas system, to three consecutive bands of thrust faulting in the Wheeler Ridge area and the Western Transverse Ranges. The local variations in the style of faulting include normal faulting at the north end of the San Jacinto Fault and scattered areas of thrust faulting. The regional variations in the SHmax trends are very similar to the pattern of the GPS-measured maximum shortening axes of the surface strain rate tensor field although the strain field tends to be smoother and appears to capture some of the upper-mantle deformation field. The mean trend of SHmax departs about approximately 14° to the east from the trend of the maximum shortening directions derived from anisotropy in the upper mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major issues for understanding the tectonic evolution of continental regions is how pre-existing discontinuities influence the style and distribution of deformation, which is often not obviously and uniquely connected to the plate-boundary kinematics. Iran represents one of the most instructive regions to study continental deformation, as here the present-day Arabia–Eurasia convergence is accommodated in a very wide area over a range of structures. The tectonic boundary between the Lut and the Tabas blocks of Central Iran currently accommodates part of the Arabia–Eurasia convergence by right-lateral strike-slip faults, associated with NNW–SSE oriented fold-related thrust. During Middle-Late Jurassic, this boundary was the location of a large-scale shelf-lagoon carbonate platform-slope-to-basin depositional system, mainly controlled by the activity of a N–S oriented normal fault system. In this study, the geometry and the kinematics of the deformation at the tectonic boundary between the Lut and the Tabas blocks, are reconstructed from an integrated anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and structural analysis in the Upper Jurassic Garedu Red Beds Fm., outcropping at the core of a NNE–SSW oriented syncline in the northern Shotori Range. AMS and structural results indicate that the Upper Jurassic Garedu Red Beds Fm. syncline can be defined as a transected fold, where the mismatch between fold hinge and magnetic fabric/cleavage is about 15° counter-clockwise, suggesting that this fold system formed as a consequence of right-lateral transpressional tectonics. Results from this study thus document the evolution of Jurassic normal faults to a transpressional tectonic boundary between the Tabas and Lut crustal blocks sometime between the Lower Cretaceous and Palaeocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of the geodetic coverage within the African Plate over the last decade together with an extended GPS position time-series allows improved accuracy in determining the velocity field than prior geodetic studies. Using this new velocity field of the whole African continent, the best model proposed here remains consistent with previous studies including the existence of two small plates along the East African Rift System (EARS, Victoria and Rovuma). We focus specifically on the velocities along this plate boundary by estimating both the geodetic and the seismic moment rate. Whereas we use a scalar form of the Kostrov relation to calculate the geodetic moment rate, the seismic moment rate is obtained by integrating the cumulative truncated Gutenberg–Richter earthquake distribution of local events in the 39-yr-long worldwide catalogue, using a maximum likelihood method. This statistical method allows us to take into account the probable incompleteness of the existing catalogue and to assume the seismic moment rate calculated from this short catalogue to be representative of the long-term seismic deformation. The comparison of geodetic and seismic energy release sheds light on the variations of mechanical behaviour related to intracontinental extension along the EARS. The southward increase, observed along the rift, of the proportion of geodetic moment seismically accommodated suggests a significant control of the thermal structure associated with different states of rifting evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of dense networks of broad-band seismographs makes teleseismic data amenable to full-waveform inversion (FWI) methods for high-resolution lithospheric imaging. Compared to scattered-field migration, FWI seeks to involve the full seismic wavefield in the inversion. We present a parametric analysis of 2-D frequency-domain FWI in the framework of lithospheric imaging from teleseismic data to identify the main factors that impact on the quality of the reconstructed compressional (P)-wave and shear (S)-wave speed models. Compared to controlled-source seismology, the main adaptation of FWI to teleseismic configuration consists of the implementation with a scattered-filed formulation of plane-wave sources that impinge on the base of the lithospheric target located below the receiver network at an arbitrary incidence angle. Seismic modelling is performed with a hp-adaptive discontinuous Galerkin method on unstructured triangular mesh. A quasi-Newton inversion algorithm provides an approximate accounting for the Hessian operator, which contributes to reduce the footprint of the coarse acquisition geometry in the imaging. A versatile algorithm to compute the gradient of the misfit function with the adjoint-state method allows for abstraction between the forward-problem operators and the meshes that are during seismic modelling and inversion, respectively. An approximate correction for obliquity is derived for future application to real teleseismic data under the two-dimension approximation. Comparisons between the characteristic scales involved in exploration geophysics and in teleseismic seismology suggest that the resolution gain provided by full waveform technologies should be of the same order of magnitude for both applications. We first show the importance of the surface-reflected wavefield to dramatically improve the resolving power of FWI by combining tomography-like and migration-like imaging through the incorporation of the forward-scattered and the backscattered wavefields in the inversion. The resolution of FWI is assessed through checkerboard tests and confirms a resolution of the order of the wavelength for both the P and S speeds, when the full wavefield is incorporated in the inversion. Secondly, we show that computationally efficient strategies, which consist of decimating the number of frequency components involved in the inversion, do not apply to teleseismic acquisitions, because the scattering-angle bandwidth sampled by plane-wave sources can be narrow and coarsely sampled, compared to that provided by dense profiles of point sources in exploration seismology. The waveform inversion is less sensitive to the band of incidence angles spanned by the plane-wave sources and to the sampling of this band. However, the deficit of vertically propagating plane waves hampers the vertical resolution of planar layers. Aliasing artefacts created by coarse arrays of receivers are illustrated. We show how taking into account the Hessian in the inversion and the suitable management of frequencies in the inversion help to mitigate these artefacts. Acceptable reconstructions are shown for both the P- and S-wave speeds for a receiver spacing of up to 20 km in the 0.1–0.4 Hz frequency range. Building a reliable initial model for FWI is a highly non-linear problem in exploration seismology. We show how the low-frequency content of the teleseismic sources allow us to build accurate P- and S-wave speed models starting from simple vertical-gradient velocity models. All of these results are derived using a 2-D realistic synthetic experiment that was performed with noise-free data. Most of conclusions of this parametric study should apply in three dimensions. The impact of noise and the footprint of other experimental parameters ... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topography and gravity are geophysical fields whose joint statistical structure derives from interface-loading processes modulated by the underlying mechanics of isostatic and flexural compensation in the shallow lithosphere. Under this dual statistical-mechanistic viewpoint an estimation problem can be formulated where the knowns are topography and gravity and the principal unknown the elastic flexural rigidity of the lithosphere. In the guise of an equivalent ‘effective elastic thickness’, this important, geographically varying, structural parameter has been the subject of many interpretative studies, but precisely how well it is known or how best it can be found from the data, abundant nonetheless, has remained contentious and unresolved throughout the last few decades of dedicated study. The popular methods whereby admittance or coherence, both spectral measures of the relation between gravity and topography, are inverted for the flexural rigidity, have revealed themselves to have insufficient power to independently constrain both it and the additional unknown initial-loading fraction and load-correlation factors, respectively. Solving this extremely ill-posed inversion problem leads to non-uniqueness and is further complicated by practical considerations such as the choice of regularizing data tapers to render the analysis sufficiently selective both in the spatial and spectral domains. Here, we rewrite the problem in a form amenable to maximum-likelihood estimation theory, which we show yields unbiased, minimum-variance estimates of flexural rigidity, initial-loading fraction and load correlation, each of those separably resolved with little a posteriori correlation between their estimates. We are also able to separately characterize the isotropic spectral shape of the initial-loading processes. Our procedure is well-posed and computationally tractable for the two-interface case. The resulting algorithm is validated by extensive simulations whose behaviour is well matched by an analytical theory with numerous tests for its applicability to real-world data examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we modify and extend a data analysis technique to determine the stress orientations between data clusters by adding an additional constraint governing the probability algorithm. We apply this technique to produce a map of the maximum horizontal compressive stress (SHmax) orientations in the greater European region (including Europe, Turkey and Mediterranean Africa). Using the World Stress Map data set release 2008, we obtain analytical probability distributions of the directional differences as a function of the angular distance, θ. We then multiply the probability distributions that are based on pre-averaged data within θ < 3° of the interpolation point and determine the maximum likelihood estimate of the SHmax orientation. At a given distance, the probability of obtaining a particular discrepancy decreases exponentially with discrepancy. By exploiting this feature observed in the World Stress Map release 2008 data set, we increase the robustness of our SHmax determinations. For a reliable determination of the most likely SHmax orientation, we require that 90 per cent confidence limits be less than ±60° and a minimum of three clusters, which is achieved for 57 per cent of the study area, with uncertainties of less than ±30° for 19 per cent of the area. When the data density exceeds 0.8 × 10−3 data km–2, our method provides a means of reproducing significant local patterns in the stress field. Several mountain ranges in the Mediterranean display 90° changes in the SHmax orientation from their crests (which often experience normal faulting) and their foothills (which often experience thrust faulting). This pattern constrains the tectonic stresses to a magnitude similar to that of the topographic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This integrated study of deep earthquake locations and focal mechanisms investigates the relationship between the shape of subducting slabs and seismic behaviour in Wadati-Benioff zones. High quality earthquake locations are used to map the shapes of subducting slabs which have reached the upper-lower mantle boundary. The resulting slab models reveal the presence of large slab folds in the mantle transition zone. The distributions and focal mechanisms of deep earthquakes are analysed to determine whether these folds have a role in governing Wadati-Benioff zone seismicity.Bands or lineations of dense seismicity are associated with the hinge zones of identified folds. The focal mechanisms of earthquakes within these bands reveal that the mapped fold hinges are commonly perpendicular to the directions of maximum coseismic extension and compression. The hinges plunge at a variety of angles, resulting in systematic deviations from the downdip stress field expected within planar slabs. Slab synforms are typified by earthquake focal mechanisms indicating in-plane compression (e.g. Izu-Bonin, Tonga), while antiforms have earthquake focal mechanisms indicating in-plane extension (e.g. Solomons) or a mixture of in-plane compression and extension (e.g. Tonga).Slab buckling explains both the clustering of earthquakes and the observed focal mechanism orientations within fold hinges. The localization of strain within buckle zones results in several of the peaks observed in regional earthquake depth distributions. During buckling, the directions of maximum shortening and extension are expected to be perpendicular to the fold hinges, in agreement with deep earthquake moment tensors. Displacement of the minimum-strain surface away from the centre of each seismogenic zone can explain the predominance of in-plane compression within synforms and in-plane extension within antiforms. More complex local variation in focal mechanism orientations in the Tonga slab can be explained by a superposition of in-plane compression and bending strain.Buckling appears to be a common mechanism facilitating convergence between subducting slabs and the lower mantle. The consequent rotation and translation of fold limbs may explain the discrepancy between estimates of convergence based on subduction velocities and long-term coseismic strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Early in the morning of 1887 February 23, a damaging earthquake hit the towns along the Italian and French Riviera. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami with a maximum run-up of 2 m near Imperia, Italy. At least 600 people died, mainly due to collapsing buildings. This 'Ligurian earthquake' occurred at the junction between the southern French-Italian Alps and the Ligurian Basin. For such a historical event, the epicentre and the equivalent magnitude are difficult to characterize with any degree of precision, and the tectonic fault responsible for the earthquake is still under debate today. The recent MALISAR marine geophysical survey allowed the identification of a large system of active faults. We propose that the rupture of some of the segments belonging to this 80-km-long northern Ligurian Faults system connected to a shallow-dipping major thrust plane at depth was the source of the 1887 Ligurian earthquake. We investigated the macroseismic data from the SISFRANCE-08 and DBMI-04 historical databases using several models of intensity attenuation with distance and focal depth. The modelling results are consistent with the off-shore location, with an epicentre around 43.70°-43.78°N and 7.81°-8.07°E, and with a magnitude Mw in the range of 6.3-7.5. Numerous earthquake source scenarios have been tested on the tide gauge record at Genoa harbour. As a result, we present seven characteristic source earthquake scenarios for a shallow strong earthquake occurring below the northern Ligurian margin. The modelled tide gauge records were analysed with the help of basic statistical tools and a simple harmonic analysis, to extract the wave spectrum characteristics. This analysis indicates that scenarios of a magnitude Mw of 6.8-6.9 along a reverse N55°E striking fault are the best candidates to explain the known characteristics of the tsunami that followed. The best-fitting scenarios comprise a 70°-dipping southward fault plane with Mw 6.8 and a 16°-dipping northward fault plane with Mw 6.9, both with reverse kinematics. Taking into account the geometry of the active faults, the location of the macroseismic epicentre and the morphotectonic evolution of the continental slope, we propose that the 1887 Ligurian earthquake corresponded to the reverse faulting of a N55°E striking fault plane dipping to the north with a coseismic slip of 1.5 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY The Jan Mayen microcontinent (JMMC) in the NE Atlantic was created through two Cenozoic rift episodes. Originally part of East Greenland, the JMMC rifted from NW Europe during the Early Eocene under extensive magmatism. The eastern margin is conjugate to the Møre-Faeroes volcanic margin. The western JMMC margin underwent prolonged extension before it finally separated from East Greenland during the Late Oligocene. Here we present the modelling by forward/inverse ray tracing of two wide-angle seismic profiles acquired using Ocean Bottom Seismometers, across the northern and the southern JMMC. Early Eocene breakup magmatism at the eastern JMMC produced an igneous thickness of 7-9 km in the north, and 12-14 km in the south. While the continent is clear in the north, the southern JMMC appears to be affected by later Icelandic magmatism. Reduced seismic velocity and increased crustal thickness are compatible with continental crust adjacent to the volcanic margin in the south, but the continental presence towards the Iceland shelf is less clear. Our magnetic track off the southern JMMC gives seafloor spreading rates comparable to that of the conjugate Møre Margin. Transition to ultraslow seafloor spreading occurs at ∼43 Ma, indicating onset of major deformation of the JMMC. Calculating the igneous thickness-mean V P relationship at the eastern volcanic margin gives the typical positive correlation seen elsewhere on the NE Atlantic margins. The results indicate temperature driven breakup magmatism under passive mantle upwelling, with a maximum mantle temperature anomaly of ∼50 °C in the north and 90-150 °C in the south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY On 2009 April 6 a Mw = 6.3 earthquake struck the Abruzzi region (Central Italy) and caused severe destruction in L'Aquila and the surrounding area. In this work we present a Finite Element analysis of the event based on a realistic complex 3-D model, accounting for topographic relief and rheological heterogeneities deduced from local tomography. Finite Element computed Green's functions were implemented in a linear inversion of GPS coseismic displacements, to retrieve the slip distribution on the rupture plane. The inverted slip models basically agree with previous studies carried out on homogeneous domains, but reveal the presence of a single high slip patch, whereas half-space or 1-D approaches obtain a more complex slip pattern. Our results point out that the introduction of 3-D features significantly influences the obtained source model, suggesting a trade-off between domain complexities and source details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY High-resolution 3-D QP and QS models at depths of 0∼14 km in the Longtan reservoir area, which were used to further infer the water infiltration around the reservoir, were constructed by the local earthquake tomography technique. The inversion used t* values measured from velocity spectral amplitudes of 16 134 P-wave and 17 027 S-wave observations of 2828 events recorded by 23 digital seismic stations in the Longtan reservoir area. 3-D QP and QS tomographic images suggest a close relation between the attenuation models and water infiltration. Low QP and QS exist down to 4∼7 km depths beneath the main rivers in the reservoir area, whereas high QP and QS are found both at deep layers and at shallow layers in regions other than the main river area. We inferred that the rocks beneath the main rivers are infiltrated by substantial water and water infiltration reaches 4∼7 km deep, and the ranges of water infiltration vary by region. Specifically, the zone of high water content is estimated to extend up to 10 km away from the Buliu river in the reservoir dam area where water depth in the reservoir reaches maximum, and the extent of water infiltration in rocks can only be about 5 km around from the Hongshui river and the Youla river. Low QP and high QS indicate that the carbonate rocks in the east of the Bala fault area may be saturated with water. Earthquake clusters are mainly concentrated on the low- QP and low- QS zones, indicating that water infiltration beneath the main rivers possibly plays an important role in inducing earthquakes in the Longtan reservoir area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth's mantle is, to a very good first approximation, spherically symmetric, with lateral deviations in seismic velocities and density of only a few per cent. This observation has led to the common assumption that average radial seismic models reflect the mantle's average physical structure. We test this assumption by using a set of dynamically generated mantle structures and comparing seismic velocities for the average radial physical state with laterally averaged seismic velocities. The thermal and thermochemical dynamic circulation models are Earth-like in terms of convective vigour, thermal structure and geographical pattern of heterogeneity. We find that, in general, averaged seismic structure is not distinguishable from the seismic structure of the physical average, within the uncertainty bounds of seismic reference models. An exception is near phase boundaries, where phase-boundary topography broadens the averaged seismic jump relative to the discontinuity at physical reference conditions. In an inversion for 1-D seismic structure, where narrow discontinuities are imposed, these biases may map into a lower jump, and substantially stronger velocity gradients above and below the interface than are actually present. Other small biases in averaged structure occur in thermal boundary layers, including those that form above chemical piles. These biases are caused by large lateral variations in temperature, not compositional variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature and extent of the regional lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction beneath Ireland and Britain remains unclear. Although it has been established that ancient Caledonian signatures pervade the lithosphere, tertiary structure related to the Iceland plume has been inferred to dominate the asthenosphere. To address this apparent contradiction in the literature, we image the 3-D lithospheric and deeper upper-mantle structure beneath Ireland via non-linear, iterative joint teleseismic-gravity inversion using data from the ISLE (Irish Seismic Lithospheric Experiment), ISUME (Irish Seismic Upper Mantle Experiment) and GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) experiments. The inversion combines teleseismic relative arrival time residuals with the GRACE long wavelength satellite derived gravity anomaly by assuming a depth-dependent quasilinear velocity-density relationship. We argue that anomalies imaged at lithospheric depths probably reflect compositional contrasts, either due to terrane accretion associated with Iapetus Ocean closure, frozen decompressional melt that was generated by plate stretching during the opening of the north Atlantic Ocean, frozen Iceland plume related magmatic intrusions, or a combination thereof. The continuation of the anomalous structure across the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is interpreted as possibly reflecting sub-lithospheric small-scale convection initiated by the lithospheric compositional contrasts. Our hypothesis thus reconciles the disparity which exists between lithospheric and asthenospheric structure beneath this region of the north Atlantic rifted margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The region offshore Eastern Java represents one of the few places where the early stage of oceanic plateau subduction is occurring. We study the little investigated Roo Rise oceanic plateau on the Indian plate, subducting beneath Eurasia. The presence of the abnormal bathymetric features entering the trench has a strong effect on the evolution of the subduction system, and causes additional challenges on the assessment of geohazard risks. We present integrated results of a refraction/wide-angle reflection tomography, gravity modelling, and multichannel reflection seismic imaging using data acquired in 2006 south of Java near 113°E. The composite structural model reveals the previously unresolved deep geometry of the oceanic plateau and the subduction zone. The oceanic plateau crust is on average 15 km thick and covers an area of about 100 000 km. Within our profile the Roo Rise crustal thickness ranges between 18 and 12 km. The upper oceanic crust shows high degree of fracturing, suggesting heavy faulting. The forearc crust has an average thickness of 14 km, with a sharp increase to 33 km towards Java, as revealed by gravity modelling. The complex geometry of the backstop suggests two possible models for the structural formation within this segment of the margin: either accumulation of the Roo Rise crustal fragments above the backstop or alternatively uplift of the backstop caused by basal accumulation of crustal fragments. The subducting plateau is affecting the stress field within the accretionary complex and the backstop edge, which favours the initiation of large, potentially tsunamogenic earthquakes such as the 1994 M= 7.8 tsunamogenic event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we investigate the dynamics of the region that includes Greece, the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. In a least-squares inversion we solve for a continuous strain rate field, and corresponding velocity field, that satisfies 872 GPS data. The estimate of the geodetic strain rate field provides constraints for our dynamic analysis. Next, we separately solve the depth integrated 3-D force balance equations for depth-integrated deviatoric stresses within the lithosphere, in which body force input comes from differences in vertically integrated vertical stress, or differences in gravitational potential energy per unit area (GPE). These GPE estimates calibrate the absolute magnitudes of deviatoric stresses that are acting within the lithosphere. Further, we investigate the sensitivity of our stress field solutions by using two different crustal structure models: one from compiled crustal structure estimates obtained primarily from relatively recent seismic observations and the other from the Crust 2.0 model. In an iterative least-squares inversion we then solve for stress field boundary conditions that, when added to the contribution of deviatoric stresses associated with GPE differences, provides a best fit to the directions of principal axes and relative magnitudes of the principal axes of the rates of strain obtained in the kinematic analysis. Robust features that arise from the boundary condition solution are NNE forcing along the southern boundary east of about 33° E (0.5-1.2 × 10 N m), with a rapid anticlockwise rotation of forces to the west of this, along with an outward pulling force (∼0.4 × 10 N m) directed SSW along the entire Hellenic Arc segment. This force system along the Hellenic Arc can be interpreted as a result of slab rollback. The total depth integrated 3-D deviatoric stresses in the final dynamic solution provides an excellent match to the deformation indicators throughout the region, with vertically integrated stress magnitudes of order 0.5-2.5 × 10 N m. We use constraints from derived stress magnitudes, together with GPS-defined scalar values of strain rate magnitude, to define bulk effective viscosities of the lithosphere. Depth-averaged effective viscosities for the entire lithosphere are high within the Black Sea, of order 0.7-3 ×10 Pa-s, relative to surrounding continental lithosphere. North Anatolian shear zone, northern Aegean Sea and Gulf of Corinth are characterized by low depth averaged viscosities of order 1-5 ×10 Pa-s. Deviatoric stresses from GPE differences and boundary condition effects combine in surprising ways in some regions, resulting in near total stress cancellation in areas such as the southern Aegean Sea and portions of the central Anatolian block. GPE differences combine with boundary condition effects along the eastern segment of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) in a way that is compatible with the hypothesis that motion on the NAF was facilitated by slab detachment beneath East Anatolia and dynamic uplift of East Anatolian Plateau. In general, GPE differences play a nearly equal role as boundary condition influences in their contribution to the total deviatoric stress field. The low depth integrated deviatoric stress magnitudes throughout the region suggest that zones of active deformation are facilitated by dramatic weakening mechanisms throughout the lithosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in Vp/ Vs (Poisson's ratio) around a fault are related to changes in the fluid transport properties of rocks, which play a significant role in seismogenic processes. Here we report a notable relationship between Vp/ Vs and the permeability of porous fault-related rocks (Chelungpu fault, Taiwan) by direct and simultaneous measurement of elastic wave velocities ( Vp and Vs) and permeability under increasing effective confining pressure ( Peff) up to 25 MPa. Vp and Vs for all samples increased with Peff in the range up to 20 MPa, then were nearly constant as Peff increased to 25 MPa. Most silty sandstones with large proportions of fine-grained material showed positive correlations between Vp/ Vs and permeability with rising pressure. On the other hand, well-sorted sandstones showed only slight changes in permeability with respect to Vp/ Vs with rising pressure. We infer that grain size distributions, in particular the amount of silt- and clay-size grains, are responsible for the change in permeability with pressure as small particles clog pore networks with increasing Peff, causing the decrease in permeability. These findings may be useful to explain changes in permeability and pore pressure in the deep crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) is a transform structure that constitutes the boundary between the Anatolian Plate to the south and the Eurasia Plate to the north. We analysed the properties of the upper-mantle strain field and mantle anisotropy in the vicinity of NAFZ via splitting of SKS and SKKS phases. We used data from the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) passive seismic experiment. This is the first study that analyses the upper-mantle anisotropy in this region and our results indicate that the observed upper-mantle strain field is uniform underneath the array with consistent NE–SW polarization directions for fast split waves. The measured lag times between the arrivals of the fast and slow split waves varies from 0.5 to 1.6 s for the study area. Smaller lag times are obtained consistently in the eastern part of the array. However, we do not observe any significant variation in either the polarization directions or the delay times across the plate boundary (NAFZ). The uniformity of the fast polarization directions throughout the study area and the strength of anisotropy favour an asthenospheric source for the anisotropy. The regional tectonic framework favours a SW direction of asthenospheric flow due to the forces acting on the upper-mantle exerted by the slab-roll-back taking place along the Aegean and the Cyprean Subduction Zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present and discuss a 3-D geometrical model of the Moho topography in the Southwestern Alps. To achieve this objective, we used the potential of 3-D modelling software (i.e. a 3-D GeoModeller) to combine gravity, seismic and seismological constraints in a same and coherent 3-D space. A new regional Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the Southwestern Alps was calculated and filtered to isolate the Moho signature in the Southwestern Alps. Then, two alternative 3-D models were computed with data from the literature based on seismic and seismological constraints. The first one represents an European lithospheric mantle decoupled from the European orogenic crust which is back-thrusted by the Ivrea body whereas the second 3-D model illustrates the subduction of a 20-km-thick piece of lower continental crust, coupled with the European upper mantle, beneath the Ivrea body. According to the geological knowledge of these units we then assigned a density value to each modelled layer and we computed their gravity effects to compare them with the filtered Moho map of the Southwestern Alps. First of all, the significant discrepancies of the Moho gravity signature generated by these two geometrical models reveal that subduction of continental crust is no more active in the present-day configuration of the Southwestern Alps. Therefore, the first 3-D model was refined by a stochastic 3-D gravity inversion. Based on this processing, our investigations confirm the presence of three superposed Mohos in the Southwestern Alps and underline that: (i) The crust/mantle European boundary is localized around 50 km depth beneath the Argentera-Mercantour massif, (ii) The European lithospheric mantle is decoupled from the European orogenic crust, (iii) The Adriatic mantle (Ivrea body) is split into two distinct units; the upper unit is located at 10 km depth beneath the Dora-Maïra massif, and the lower unit extends from 20 to 45 km depth. (iv) These two mantle indenters affect differently the European crust and are responsible for the localization of crustal deformation and for strain partitioning in the Southwestern Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In Northeast India, three major plates interact along two convergent boundaries: the Himalayas and the Indo–Burma Ranges, which meet at the Assam Syntaxis. To clarify this tectonic interaction and the underlying dynamics, we determine the regional seismotectonic stress from the stress inversion of 285 double couple focal mechanism solutions of earthquakes with an average magnitude of 5. We then compare the reconstructed stress regimes with the available information about geodetically determined relative displacements. North–south compression, in a direction consistent with India–Eurasia convergence, prevails in the whole area from the Eastern Himalayas to the Bengal Basin, through the Shillong–Mikir Massif and the Upper Assam Valley. E–W extension in Tibet is related to this N–S India–Eurasia convergence. Not only does the major N–S compression affect the outer segments of the Indo–Burma Ranges, it also extends into the descending slab of Indian lithosphere below these ranges, although stresses at depth are controlled by bending of the slab beneath the Burmese arc. The existence of widespread N–S compression in the Bengal Basin, far away from the Himalayan front, is compatible with the previously proposed convergence between a Shillong–Mikir–Assam Valley block and the Indian craton. E–W compression inside this block supports the hypothesis of a component of eastward extrusion. Stress inversion of focal mechanism solutions in the Indo–Burma Ranges reveals a complex stress pattern. The Burmese arc and its underlying lithosphere experience nearly arc-perpendicular extension with ESE–WNW trends in the northernmost, NE-trending segment and ENE–WSW trends in the main N–S arc segment. Such extensional stress, documented from many arcs, is likely a response to pull from and bending of the subducting plate. At the same time, the Indo–Burma Ranges are under compression as a result of oblique convergence between the Sunda and Indian plates. The maximum compressive stress rotates from NE–SW across the inner and northern arc to E–W near the Bengal Basin. This rotation is consistent with the deformation partitioning reflected in the rotation of relative displacement vectors, from a SSW-directed Sunda–Burma motion to a WSW-directed Burma–India motion. As a consequence of this partitioning, the major belt-parallel fault zones show a variety of movements across the main N–S arc segment, from right-lateral slip in the inner ranges to oblique reverse-dextral slip in the outer ranges and pure thrusting in the westernmost foreland belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viscous coupling between the subducting slab and the overriding mantle wedge may drive a corner flow in the forearcs and, consequently, may affect the temperature in the mantle wedge. We developed a numerical model of a generic pseudo-plastic subduction plate, in which the steady-state thermal structure of the mantle wedge is calculated without any a priori assumptions on the geometry of the subducting slab. The results showed that both the temperature field and the geometry of the slab are strongly controlled by weakness zones in the topmost part of the subducting plate and in the cold tip of the mantle wedge. We showed that a backward flow may evolve along the plate–wedge interface if the cold portion of the mantle wedge is weak, which, likely, is true as this region is hypothesized to be strongly serpentinized. We concluded that the self-consistent generation of the plate geometry should be addressed in the kinematic subduction models because such a strongly non-linear system may lead to unforseen effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling the geoid has been a widely used and successful approach in constraining flow and viscosity in the Earth's mantle. However, details of the viscosity structure cannot be tightly constrained with this approach. Here, radial viscosity variations in four to five mantle layers (lithosphere, upper mantle, one to two transition zone layers, lower mantle) are computed with the aid of independent mineral physics results. A density model is obtained by converting s-wave anomalies from seismic tomography to density anomalies. Assuming both are of thermal origin, conversion factors are computed based on mineral physics results. From the density and viscosity model, a model of mantle flow, and the resulting geoid and radial heat flux profile are computed. Absolute viscosity values in the mantle layers are treated as free parameters and determined by minimizing a misfit function, which considers fit to geoid, ‘Haskell average’ determined from post-glacial rebound and the radial heat flux profile and penalizes if at some depth computed heat flux exceeds the estimated mantle heat flux 33 TW. Typically, optimized models do not exceed this value by more than about 20 per cent and fit the Haskell average well. Viscosity profiles obtained show a characteristic hump in the lower mantle, with maximum viscosities of about 1023 Pa s just above the D″ layer— several hundred to about 1000 times the lowest viscosities in the upper mantle. This viscosity contrast is several times higher than what is inferred when a constant lower mantle viscosity is assumed. The geoid variance reduction obtained is up to about 80 per cent—similar to previous results. However, because of the use of mineral physics constraints, a rather small number of free model parameters is required, and at the same time, a reasonable heat flux profile is obtained. Results are best when the lowest viscosities occur in the transition zone. When viscosity is lowest in the asthenosphere, variance reduction is about 70–75 per cent. Best results were obtained with a viscous lithosphere with a few times 1022 Pa s. The optimized models yield a core-mantle boundary excess ellipticity several times higher than observed, possibly indicating that radial stresses are partly compensated due to non-thermal lateral variations within the lowermost mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teleseismic P-wave tomography has revealed a columnar low-velocity anomaly in the upper mantle below the volcanic Eifel region in western Germany extending to at least 400 km depth. Here we explore whether a geodynamically consistent model of a mantle plume can explain the observed traveltime residuals. We use a 3-D mantle convection code with temperature and pressure-dependent viscosity to generate a suite of model plumes that rise from the transition zone and spread below a stationary or drifting lithospheric plate. We use ray tracing to calculate synthetic travel times and vary the plume location, radius, temperature and the rate and direction of plate motion in order to fit the observed travel times. Our results show a fair correlation between synthetic and observed traveltime residuals. The presence of additional structures in the lithosphere and upper mantle of the Eifel region that are not covered by a simple plume model prevents a perfect fit of the observed seismological data and may bias to some degree the derived plume parameters. The traveltime anomalies are mainly caused by the plume stem with smaller contributions from the plume head. Models with and without an axisymetric plume head below the lithosphere fit the data almost equally well and we conclude that the absence of a plume head in tomographic images does not rule out its existence. In the best-fitting model the plume stem has a radius of 60 km and rises about 50 km to the SW of the quaternary volcanic field below a lithosphere that this slowly moving in the NNE direction. The temperature of the plume and its flux cannot be constrained tightly from our model results, but combining them with other constraints we estimate an excess temperature of ∼200°C and a buoyancy flux of 500–1000 kg s−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory of mind studies of emotion usually focus on children's ability to predict other people's feelings. This study examined children's spontaneous references to mental states in explaining others' emotions. Children (4-, 6- and 10-year-olds, n = 122) were told stories and asked to explain both typical and atypical emotional reactions of characters. Because atypical emotional reactions are unexpected, we hypothesized that children would be more likely to refer to mental states, such as desires and beliefs, in explaining them than when explaining typical emotions. From the development of lay theories of emotion, derived the prediction that older children would refer more often to mental states than younger children. The developmental shift from a desire-psychology to a belief-psychology led to the expectation that references to desires would increase at an earlier age than references to beliefs. Our findings confirmed these expectations only partly, because the nature of the emotion (happiness, anger, sadness or fear) interacted with these factors. Whereas anger, happiness and sadness mainly evoked desire references, fear evoked more belief references, even in 4-year-olds. The fact that other factors besides age can also play an influential role in children's mental state reasoning is discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the parameters used in seismic hazard analyses imply a long-term seismic strain rate, they are usually not checked against such alternative estimates. In this study, we determine hazard parameters for the eastern Mediterranean ( a-value, b-value, and the corresponding long-term seismic moment rate ) consistent with seismicity data, tectonic information and geodetic strain rates. The dense data coverage in this region permits a detailed comparison of the horizontal seismic strain rate field, , as recorded in the 500-yr long historical catalogue and the tectonic strain rate field, , measured geodetically. We find that is very similar in style over all magnitude ranges within each different tectonic regime in the study region. Furthermore, is similar in style to . Except along the Hellenic Arc, is consistent with in amplitude. We verify that for the high strain rates accommodated in the eastern Mediterranean and historical catalogues spanning at least 100–200 yr, should reflect the long-term seismic strain release when averaged over each tectonic zone. To estimate such seismic strain reliably, accurate knowledge about the rates of recurrence of intermediate size events is needed. For , these events can accommodate up to 60 per cent of the strain. The combined analysis of and provides an estimate of the seismic/total strain. The major strike-slip zones in the region, the Northern Anatolian Fault and the Kephalonian Fault, experience little to negligible aseismic deformation. In the remaining eastern Mediterranean up to 10–30 per cent of the total deformation is aseismic. The Hellenic Trench is largely uncoupled, with at least 50 per cent and up to 90 per cent of the compressive strain released aseismically. Only the extensional component of strain at the eastern end of this trench appears significantly seismically active. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic velocity and attenuation anomalies in the mantle are commonly interpreted in terms of temperature variations on the basis of laboratory studies of elastic and anelastic properties of rocks. In order to evaluate the relative contributions of thermal and non-thermal effects on anomalies of attenuation of seismic shear waves, , and seismic velocity, , we compare global maps of the thermal structure of the continental upper mantle with global and maps as determined from Rayleigh waves at periods between 40 and 150 s. We limit the comparison to three continental mantle depths (50, 100 and 150 km), where model resolution is relatively high. The available data set does not indicate that, at a global scale, seismic anomalies in the upper mantle are controlled solely by temperature variations. Continental maps have correlation coefficients of 0.56 between and T and of <0.47 between and T at any depth. Such low correlation coefficients can partially be attributed to modelling artefacts; however, they also suggest that not all of the and anomalies in the continental upper mantle can be explained by T variations. Global maps show that, by the sign of the anomaly, and usually inversely correlate with lithospheric temperatures: most cratonic regions show high and and low T, while most active regions have seismic and thermal anomalies of the opposite sign. The strongest inverse correlation is found at a depth of 100 km, where the attenuation model is best resolved. Significantly, at this depth, the contours of near-zero anomalies approximately correspond to the 1000 °C isotherm, in agreement with laboratory measurements that show a pronounced increase in seismic attenuation in upper mantle rocks at 1000–1100 °C. East–west profiles of and T where continental data coverage is best (50°N latitude for North America and 60°N latitude for Eurasia) further demonstrate that temperature plays a dominant, but non-unique, role in determining the value of lithospheric and . At 100 km depth, where the resolution of seismic models is the highest, we compare observed seismic and with theoretical and values, respectively, that are calculated solely from temperature anomalies and constrained by experimental data on temperature dependencies of velocity and attenuation. This comparison shows that temperature variations alone are sufficient to explain seismic and in ca 50 per cent of continental regions. We hypothesize that compositional anomalies resulting from Fe depletion can explain the misfit between seismic and theoretical in cratonic lithosphere. In regions of active tectonics, temperature effects alone cannot explain seismic and in the lithosphere. It is likely that partial melts and/or fluids may affect seismic parameters in these regions. This study demonstrates that lithospheric temperature plays the dominant role in controlling and anomalies, but other physical parameters, such as compositional variations, fluids, partial melting and scattering, may also play a significant role in determining and variations in the continental mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]