Design and development of information systems for the geosciences: An application to the Middle East

Publisher's version archived with permission from publisher. http://www.gulfpetrolink.net/publication/geoarabia.htmAs our understanding grows of how the Earth functions as a complex system of myriad interrelated mechanisms, it becomes clear that a revolutionary and novel approach is needed to study and understand it. In order to take advantage of an ever-growing number of observations and large data sets and to employ them efficiently in multidisciplinary studies aimed at solving earth system science problems, we are developing a comprehensive Solid Earth Information System (SEIS). The complex nature of the solid earth sciences raises serious challenges for geoscientists in their quest to understand the nature and the dynamic mechanisms at work in the planet. SEIS forms a first step in developing a broader and more comprehensive information system for earth system sciences designed for the needs of the geoscientists of the 21st century. In a way, SEIS is a step towards the Digital Earth. Application of SEIS to the complex tectonics of the Middle East shows that information systems are crucial in multidisciplinary research studies and open new avenues in research efforts. SEIS includes an Internet module that provides open access to anyone interested. Researchers as well as educators and students can access this knowledge and information system at http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu

Vertical constraint on mantle anisotropy from shear wave splitting in the Isparta Angle, Turkey [abstract]

Abstract only availableThe Isparta Angle in southwestern Turkey is the terrestrial expression of the off shore intersection of the Hellenic and Cyprian arcs. It has been suggested that there is a tear in the down-going lithospheric slab. If a tear does exist, it will be evidenced in the mantle flow beneath the angle. When shear seismic waves travel through the mantle they can become polarized in the direction parallel to flow. On a three component seismometer, the S-wave will be recorded earlier on the horizontal component corresponding to the polarization direction. The time between the polarized and non-polarized horizontal components and the direction of polarization are both computed and plotted on a map. We are interested in the polarization directions to determine the direction of flow beneath the Isparta Angle. We studied two different types of shear waves. We analyzed local events with a maximum depth of 250 km. We also analyzed SKS events in which shear waves travel through the entire mantle and into the outer core, meaning that the flow or anisotropy causing splitting could be anywhere in the mantle. By comparing our local results that are confined to the upper 250 km of the mantle and the SKS results we have found that there is a large jump in lag time somewhere beneath 250 km. We found the average lag time for local events to be about 0.6 seconds whereas the SKS average about 1.9 seconds. This means the majority of anisotropy is in the lower portions of the mantle. Data for this research is being collected by a temporary array of seismic stations deployed around the Isparta area. The project is a NSF funded collaboration of the University of Missouri-Columbia, Kandilli Observatory-Istanbul, and Suleyman Demirel University-Isparta.National Science Foundation; Summer Arts & Science Undergraduate Research Mentorship Progra

Shear-Wave Splitting and Mantle Flow Beneath the Colorado Plateau and its Boundary with the Great Basin

Shear-wave splitting measurements from SKS and SKKS phases show fast polarization azimuths that are subparallel to North American absolute plate motion within the central Rio Grande Rift (RGR) and Colorado Plateau (CP) through to the western rim of the CP, with anisotropy beneath the CP and central RGR showing a remarkably consistent pattern with a mean fast azimuth of 4 degrees +/- degrees 6 E of N. Approaching the rim from the southeast, fast anisotropic directions become north-northeast-south-southwest (NNE-SSW), rotate counter clockwise to north-south in the CP-GB transition, and then to NNW-SSE in the western Great Basin ( GB). This change is coincident with uppermost mantle S-wave velocity perturbations that vary from +4% beneath the western CP and the eastern edge of the Marysvale volcanic field to about -8% beneath the GB. Corresponding delay times average 1.5 sec beneath the central CP, decrease to approximately 0.8 sec near the CP-GB transition, and increase to about 1.2 sec beneath the GB. For the central CP, we suggest anisotropy predominantly controlled by North American plate motion above the asthenosphere. The observed pattern of westward-rotating anisotropy from the western CP through the CP-GB transition may be influenced to asthenospheric flow around a CP lithospheric keel and/or by vertical flow arising from edge-driven small-scale convection. The anisotropic transition from the CP to the GB thus marks a first-order change from absolute plate motion dominated lithosphere-asthenosphere shear to a new regime controlled by regional flow processes. The NNW-SSE anisotropic fast directions of split SKS waves in the eastern GB area are part of a broad circular pattern of seismic anisotropic fast direction in the central GB that has recently been hypothesized to be due to toroidal flow around the sinking Juan de Fuca-Gorda slab.National Science Foundation EAR 9706094, 9707188, 9707190, 0207812Los Alamos National Laboratory Institute of Geophysics and Planetary PhysicsNational Science Foundation Cooperative EAR-000430Department of Energy National Nuclear Security AdministrationGeological Science

Tomographic Pn velocity and anisotropy structure beneath the Anatolian plateau (eastern Turkey) and the surrounding regions

An edited version of this paper was published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Copyright 2003, AGU. See also: http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2003.../2003GL017391.shtml; http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/turkey/publications/Al-Lazki-et-al_2003.htmWe use Pn phase travel time residuals to invert for mantle lid velocity and anisotropy beneath northern Arabia eastern Anatolia continent-continent collision zone. The primary phase data were obtained from the temporary 29- station broadband PASSCAL array of the Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment. These data were supplemented by phase data from available stations of the Turkish National Seismic Network, the Syrian National Seismic Network, the Iranian Long Period Array, and other stations around the southern Caspian Sea. In addition, we used carefully selected catalog data from the International Seismological Centre and the National Earthquake Information Center bulletins. Our results show that low (<8 km/s) to very low (<7.8 km/s) Pn velocity zones underlie the Anatolian plateau, the Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. Such low velocities are used to infer the presence of partially molten to absent mantle lid beneath these regions. In contrast, we observed a high Pn velocity zone beneath northern Arabia directly south of the Bitlis-Zagros suture indicating the presence of a stable Arabian mantle lid. This sharp velocity contrast across the suture zone suggests that Arabia is not underthrusting beneath the Anatolian plateau and that the surface suture extends down to the uppermost mantle. Pn anisotropy orientations within a single plate (e.g. Anatolia plate) show a higher degree of lateral variation compared to Pn velocity. Areas of coherent Pn anisotropy orientations are observed to continue across major fault zones such as the EAF zone

HIGH-RESOLUTION SEISMIC VELOCITY AND ATTENUATION MODELS OF THE CAUCASUS-CASPIAN REGION

The southwest edge of Eurasia is a tectonically and structurally complex region that includes the Caspian and Black Sea basins, the Caucasus Mountains, and the high plateaus south of the Caucasus. Crustal and upper mantle velocities show great heterogeneity in this region and regional phases display variations in both amplitudes and travel time. Furthermore, due to a lack of quality data, the region has largely been unexplored in terms of the detailed lithospheric seismic structure. A unified high-resolution 3D velocity and attenuation model of the crust and upper mantle will be developed and calibrated. This model will use new data from 23 new broadband stations in the region analyzed with a comprehensive set of techniques. Velocity models of the crust and upper mantle will be developed using a joint inversion of receiver functions and surface waves. The surface wave modeling will use both event-based methods and ambient noise tomography. Regional phase (Pg, Pn, Sn, and Lg) Q model(s) will be constructed using the new data in combination with existing data sets. The results of the analysis (both attenuation and velocity modeling) will be validated using modeling of regional phases, calibration with selected events, and comparison with previous work. Preliminary analyses of receiver functions show considerable variability across the region. All results will be integrated into the KnowledgeBase