Comment on “SKS splitting beneath continental rifts zones” by Gao et al.

International audienceAs previously suggested by many authors, shear wave splitting rneasurernents certainly provide the best insights on the tectonic structure (or fabric) of the upper mantle. Shear wave splitting pararneters are correlated with the flow fabric developed in the deforming upper mantle. Petrophysical analysis of peridotites [e.g., Kem et al., 1996; Mainprice and Silver, 1993] shows that the largest anisotropy is recorded for shear waves propagating close to the Y structural direction (i.e., normal to the lineation in the foliation plane) and that the fast split shear wa ve is polarized in a plane parallel to the X structural axis (i.e., the lineation, marked by the olivine a axis concentration). Mapping shear wave splitting parameters over a specific tectonic domain would therefore provide an image of the mantle fabric at depth