Anomalous high‐frequency wave propagation from the Tonga–Kermadec seismic zone to New Zealand

Summary. Bulletins of the International Seismological Centre (ISC) show very large residuals, up to 15 s early, for arrivals from events in the Tonga–Kermadec subduction zone to the New Zealand network of seismometers. The very early arrivals are confined to events south of about 22°S, and shallower than about 350 km. The waveforms show two distinct phases: an early, emergent, first phase with energy in the high‐frequency band 2–10 Hz, and a distinct second phase, containing lower frequency energy, arriving at about the time predicted by JB tables. The residuals are attributed to propagation through the cold, subducted lithosphere, which has a seismic velocity 5 per cent faster, on average, than normal. Ray tracing shows that the ray paths lie very close to the slab for events south of 22°S, but pass well beneath the slab for events further north, corresponding to the change in residual pattern. This characteristic of the ray paths is due to the curved shape of the seismic zone, and in particular to the bend in the zone where the Louisville ridge intersects the trench at 25°S. The residuals can only be explained if the high velocity anomaly extends to a depth of 450 km in the region of the gap in deep seismicity from 32 to 36°S. The very high‐frequency character of the first phase requires the path from the bottom of the slab to the stations to be of high Q , and to transmit 2–10 Hz energy with little attenuation. The absence of low‐frequency energy in the first phase is due to the narrowness of the high‐velocity slab, which transmits only short‐wavelength waves. The second phase, which contains low frequencies, is identified as a P ‐wave travelling beneath the subducted slab in normal mantle. There is no need to invoke any special structures, such as low‐velocity waveguides or reflectors, to explain any of the observations. The S ‐wave arrivals show similar effects.