Downdip velocity changes in subducted oceanic crust beneath Northern Japan-insights from guided waves

Abstract

Dispersed P-wave arrivals observed in the subduction zone forearc of Northern Japan suggest that low velocity subducted oceanic crustal waveguide persists to depths of at least 220 km. First arrivals from events at 150-220 km depth show that the velocity contrast of the waveguide reduces with depth. High frequency energy (>2 Hz) is retained and delayed by the low velocity crustal waveguide while the lower frequency energy (<0.5Hz) travels at faster velocities of the surrounding mantle material. The guided wave energy then decouples from the low velocity crustal waveguide due to the bend of the slab and is seen at the surface 1-2 s after the low frequency arrival. Dispersive P-wave arrivals from WBZ earthquakes at 150-220 km depth are directly compared to synthetic waveforms produced by 2-D and 3-D full waveform finite difference simulations. By comparing both the spectrogram and the velocity spectra of the observed and synthetic waveforms we are able to fully constrain the dispersive waveform, and so directly compare the observed and synthetic waveforms. Using this full waveform modelling approach we are able to tightly constrain the velocity structures that cause the observed guided wave dispersion. Resolution tests using 2-D elastic waveform simulations show that the dispersion can be accounted for by a 6-8 km thick low velocity oceanic crust, with a velocity contrast that varies with depth. The velocities inferred for this variable low velocity oceanic crust can be explained by lawsonite bearing assemblages, and suggest that low velocity minerals may persist to greater depth than previously thought. 2-D simulations are benchmarked to 3-D full waveform simulations and show that the structures inferred by the 2-D approximation produce similar dispersion in 3-D. 2-D viscoelastic simulations show that including elevated attenuation in the mantle wedge can improve the fit of the dispersed waveform. Elevated attenuation in the low velocity layers can however be ruled out. © The Authors 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.