Tibetan and Indian lithospheres in the upper mantle beneath Tibet: Evidence from broadband surface-wave dispersion

Abstract

Broadband seismic experiments over the last two decades have produced dense data coverage across Tibet. Yet, the mechanism of the India-Asia lithospheric convergence beneath it remains a puzzle, with even its basic features debated and with very different end-member models advocated today. We measured highly accurate Rayleigh- and Love-wave phase-velocity curves in broad period ranges (up to 5-200 s) for a few tens of pairs and groups of stations across Tibet, combining, in each case, hundreds to thousands of interstation measurements made with cross-correlation and waveform-inversion methods. Robust shear-velocity profiles were then determined by extensive series of nonlinear inversions of the data, designed to constrain the depth-dependent ranges of isotropic-average shear speeds and radial anisotropy. Temperature anomalies in the upper mantle were estimated from shear velocities using accurate petrophysical relationships. Our results reveal strong heterogeneity in the upper mantle beneath Tibet. Very large high-velocity anomalies in the upper mantle are consistent with the presence of underthrust (beneath southwestern Tibet) and subducted (beneath central and eastern Tibet) Indian lithosphere. The corresponding thermal anomalies match those estimated for subducted Indian lithosphere. In contrast to the Indian lithosphere, Tibetan lithosphere and asthenosphere display low-to-normal shear speeds; Tibetan lithosphere is thus warm and thin. Radial anisotropy in the upper mantle is weak in central and strong in northeastern Tibet, possibly reflecting asthenospheric flow above the subducting Indian lithospheric slab. Key Points Strong shear-speed and thermal heterogeneity in the upper mantle beneath Tibet Indian lithosphere is subducted at a shallow angle beneath much of Tibet Tibetan mantle lithosphere is warm and thin ©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.