Comparing P and S wave heterogeneity in the mantle

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 28; no. 7; pp. 1335 - 1338
• Main Authors: Saltzer, R. L., Hilst, R. D., Kárason, H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2001; American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Earthquakes, seismology; Exact sciences and technology; Internal geophysics; Solid-earth geophysics, tectonophysics, gravimetry; models; lower mantle; seismology; P-waves; S-waves; velocity; heterogeneity; convection; subduction; depth; tomography; mantle; seismic waves
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2000GL012339

From the reprocessed data set of Engdahl and co‐workers we have carefully selected matching P and S data for tomographic imaging. We assess data and model error and conclude that our S model uncertainty is twice that of the P model. We account for this in our comparison of the perturbations in P and S‐wavespeed. In accord with previous studies we find that P and S perturbations are positively correlated at all depths. However, in the deep mantle systematic differences occur between regions that have undergone subduction in the last 120 million years and those that have not. In particular, below 1500 km depth ∂ln Vs/∂ln Vp is significantly larger in mantle regions away from subduction than in mantle beneath convergent margins. This inference is substantiated by wavespeed analyses with random realizations of the slab/non‐slab distribution. Through much of the mantle there is no significant correlation between bulk sound and S‐wave perturbations, but they appear to be negatively correlated between 1700 and 2100 km depth, which is also where the largest differences in ∂ln Vs/∂ln Vp occur. This finding supports convection models with compositional heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle.