Open AccessEffects of seismic anisotropy on P‐velocity tomography of the Baltic Shield
Author(s) -
Eken Tuna,
Plomerová Jaroslava,
Vecsey Luděk,
Babuška Vladislav,
Roberts Roland,
Shomali Hossein,
Bodvarsson R.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
geophysical journal international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0956-540X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.2011.05280.x
Subject(s) - anisotropy , lithosphere , geology , seismic anisotropy , isotropy , mantle (geology) , seismic tomography , shear wave splitting , geophysics , seismic wave , tomography , shear waves , amplitude , polarization (electrochemistry) , seismology , shear (geology) , physics , petrology , tectonics , optics , chemistry
We investigate possible effects of neglecting seismic anisotropy on standard isotropic P ‐velocity tomographic images of the upper mantle beneath the Baltic shield. Isotropic inversions of teleseismic P ‐ and S ‐wave traveltimes exhibit alternating high‐ and low‐velocity heterogeneities down to depths of over 400 km. Differences in tomographic inversions of SV ‐ and SH ‐wave traveltimes are distinct down to depths of about 200 km and are associated with anisotropy of the lithospheric mantle. Anisotropic structures of the upper mantle affect both the P and S traveltimes, shear‐wave splitting as well as the P polarization directions. Joint inversion for isotropic and anisotropic velocity perturbations is not feasible due to the limited 3‐D ray coverage of available data. Therefore, we correct the input traveltimes for anisotropic contributions derived from independent analyses and then perform standard isotropic inversions. These corrections are derived either directly from directional deviations of P ‐wave propagation or are calculated in anisotropic models retrieved by joint inversions of body‐wave anisotropic parameters ( P ‐residual spheres and shear‐wave splitting). These anisotropic models are also used to fit backazimuth variations of P ‐wave polarization directions. General features of tomographic images calculated from the original and the anisotropy‐corrected data are similar. Amplitudes of the velocity perturbations decrease below ∼200 km depth, that is in the sub‐lithospheric mantle. In general, large‐scale anisotropy related to the fabrics of the continental mantle lithosphere can contaminate tomographic images in some parts of models and should not be ignored.