Mantle Transition Zone Structure beneath Kenya and Tanzania: More Evidence for a Deep-Seated Thermal Upwelling in the Mantle

Here we investigate the thermal structure of the mantle beneath the eastern Branch of the East African Rift system in Kenya and Tanzania. We focus on the structure of the mantle transition zone, as delineated by stacking of receiver functions. The top of the transition zone (the 410 km discontinuity) displays distinctive topography, and is systematically depressed beneath the rift in Kenya and northern Tanzania and adjacent volcanic fields. This depression is indicative of a localized ∼350 °C thermal anomaly. In contrast, the bottom of the transition zone (the 660 km discontinuity) is everywhere depressed. This region-wide depression is best explained as a Ps conversion from the majorite—perovskite transition of anomalously warm mantle. We interpret this structure of the transition zone as resulting from the ponding of a mantle plume (possibly the deep-mantle African Superplume) at the base of the transition zone, which then drives localized thermal upwellings that disrupt the top of the transition zone and extend to shallow mantle depths beneath the rift in Kenya and northern Tanzania

A comparative study of parameterized and full thermal-convection models in the interpretation of heat flow from cratons and mobile belts

Heat flow from Archean cratons worldwide is typically lower than from younger mobile belts surrounding them. The contrast in heat flow between cratons and mobile belts has been attributed in previous studies to the greater thermal resistance of thicker lithosphere beneath the cratons which impedes the flow of mantle heat through the cratons and forces more mantle heat to escape through thinner mobile belt lithosphere. This interpretation is based on thermal models which employ a parameterized convection algorithm to calculate heat transfer in the sublithospheric mantle. We test this interpretation by comparing thermal models constructed using the parameterized convection scheme with models developed using an algorithm for full thermal convection. We show that thermal models constructed using the two different convection algorithms yield similar surface heat flow and thermal structure to moderate depths within the lithosphere. Therefore, we conclude that the interpretation of the heat-flow observations in terms of thicker lithosphere under Archean cratons than under mobile belts is robust in the sense that surface heat flow is not sensitive to the details of heat transfer within the convecting mantle and how deep mantle heat is delivered to the base of the lithosphere.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74756/1/j.1365-246X.1993.tb04665.x.pd

A gravity model for the lithosphere in western Kenya and northeastern Tanzania

We present a new gravity model for the lithosphere beneath the Kenya Rift Valley, the Mozambique Belt, and the Tanzania Craton in western Kenya and northeastern Tanzania. The Kenya Rift lies within the eastern branch of the extensive Cenozoic East African Rift System and has developed almost entirely in the Pan-African Mozambique Belt about 50 to 150 km east of the exposed margin of the Archean Tanzania Craton. The gravity field over western Kenya and northeastern Tanzania is characterized by a long-wavelength Bouguer anomaly. We propose that this anomaly has two components: 1. (1) a "rift" signature, deriving from a shallow rift basin, a lower crustal intrusion and a low-density zone in the mantle lithosphere localized beneath the rift axis2. (2) a "suture" signature, arising from a crustal root along the boundary between the Mozambique Belt and Tanzania Craton and higher density crust in the mobile belt above part of the crustal root. Two lines of reasoning support our interpretation: 1. (1) Recent geological studies of the Mozambique Belt in Kenya and Tanzania suggest that it is a continent-continent collision zone, and continent-continent collision zones worldwide commonly exhibit a characteristic gravity anomaly.2. (2) The long-wavelength Bouguer anomaly has at least two minima, one over the craton-mobile belt boundary, and one or more over the rift valley. Corroborative evidence for our interpretation of the gravity field is provided by recent seismic investigations.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29787/1/0000126.pd

Seasonal and spatial variations in the ocean-coupled ambient wavefield of the Ross Ice Shelf

© The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Baker, M. G., Aster, R. C., Anthony, R. E., Chaput, J., Wiens, D. A., Nyblade, A., Bromirski, P. D., Gerstoft, P., & Stephen, R. A. Seasonal and spatial variations in the ocean-coupled ambient wavefield of the Ross Ice Shelf. Journal of Glaciology, 65(254), (2019): 912-925, doi:10.1017/jog.2019.64.The Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) is host to a broadband, multimode seismic wavefield that is excited in response to atmospheric, oceanic and solid Earth source processes. A 34-station broadband seismographic network installed on the RIS from late 2014 through early 2017 produced continuous vibrational observations of Earth's largest ice shelf at both floating and grounded locations. We characterize temporal and spatial variations in broadband ambient wavefield power, with a focus on period bands associated with primary (10–20 s) and secondary (5–10 s) microseism signals, and an oceanic source process near the ice front (0.4–4.0 s). Horizontal component signals on floating stations overwhelmingly reflect oceanic excitations year-round due to near-complete isolation from solid Earth shear waves. The spectrum at all periods is shown to be strongly modulated by the concentration of sea ice near the ice shelf front. Contiguous and extensive sea ice damps ocean wave coupling sufficiently so that wintertime background levels can approach or surpass those of land-sited stations in Antarctica.This research was supported by NSF grants PLR-1142518, 1141916, 1142126, 1246151 and 1246416. JC was additionally supported by Yates funds in the Colorado State University Department of Mathematics. PDB also received support from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways under contract 11-106-107. We thank Reinhard Flick and Patrick Shore for their support during field work, Tom Bolmer in locating stations and preparing maps, and the US Antarctic Program for logistical support. The seismic instruments were provided by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) through the PASSCAL Instrument Center at New Mexico Tech. Data collected are available through the IRIS Data Management Center under RIS and DRIS network code XH. The PSD-PDFs presented in this study were processed with the IRIS Noise Tool Kit (Bahavar and others, 2013). The facilities of the IRIS Consortium are supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement EAR-1261681 and the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration. The authors appreciate the support of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Automatic Weather Station Program for the data set, data display and information; funded under NSF grant number ANT-1543305. The Ross Ice Shelf profiles were generated using the Antarctic Mapping Tools (Greene and others, 2017). Regional maps were generated with the Generic Mapping Tools (Wessel and Smith, 1998). Topography and bathymetry data for all maps in this study were sourced from the National Geophysical Data Center ETOPO1 Global Relief Model (doi:10.7289/V5C8276M). We thank two anonymous reviewers for suggestions on the scope and organization of this paper

Glacial Earthquakes and Precursory Seismicity Associated With Thwaites Glacier Calving

We observe two (~MS 3) long‐period (10–30 s) seismic events that originate from the terminus of Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica. Serendipitous acquisition of satellite images confirm that the seismic events were glacial earthquakes generated during the capsizing of icebergs. The glacial earthquakes were preceded by 6 days of discrete high‐frequency seismic events that can be observed at distances exceeding 250 km. The high‐frequency seismicity displays an increasing rate of occurrence, culminating in several hours of sustained tremor coeval with the long‐period events. A series of satellite images collected during this precursory time period show that the high‐frequency events and tremor are the result of accelerating growth of ancillary fractures prior to the culminating calving event. This study indicates that seismic data have the potential to elucidate the processes by which Thwaites Glacier discharges into the ocean, thus improving our ability to constrain future sea level rise

Ocean-excited plate waves in the Ross and Pine Island Glacier ice shelves

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Journal of Glaciology 64 (2018): 730-744, doi:10.1017/jog.2018.66.Ice shelves play an important role in buttressing land ice from reaching the sea, thus restraining the rate of grounded ice loss. Long-period gravity-wave impacts excite vibrations in ice shelves that can expand pre-existing fractures and trigger iceberg calving. To investigate the spatial amplitude variability and propagation characteristics of these vibrations, a 34-station broadband seismic array was deployed on the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) from November 2014 to November 2016. Two types of ice-shelf plate waves were identified with beamforming: flexural-gravity waves and extensional Lamb waves. Below 20 mHz, flexural-gravity waves dominate coherent signals across the array and propagate landward from the ice front at close to shallow-water gravity-wave speeds (~70 m s−1). In the 20–100 mHz band, extensional Lamb waves dominate and propagate at phase speeds ~3 km s−1. Flexural-gravity and extensional Lamb waves were also observed by a 5-station broadband seismic array deployed on the Pine Island Glacier (PIG) ice shelf from January 2012 to December 2013, with flexural wave energy, also detected at the PIG in the 20–100 mHz band. Considering the ubiquitous presence of storm activity in the Southern Ocean and the similar observations at both the RIS and the PIG ice shelves, it is likely that most, if not all, West Antarctic ice shelves are subjected to similar gravity-wave excitation.Bromirski, Gerstoft, Chen and Diez were supported by NSF grant PLR 1246151. Stephen was supported by NSF grant PLR-1246416. Wiens, Aster and Nyblade were supported under NSF grants PLR-1142518, 1141916 and 1142126, respectively

Teleseismic earthquake wavefields observed on the ross ice shelf

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Baker, M. G., Aster, R. C., Wiens, D. A., Nyblade, A., Bromirski, P. D., Gerstoft, P., & Stephen, R. A. Teleseismic earthquake wavefields observed on the Ross Ice Shelf. Journal of Glaciology, 67(261), (2021): 58-74, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.83.Observations of teleseismic earthquakes using broadband seismometers on the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) must contend with environmental and structural processes that do not exist for land-sited seismometers. Important considerations are: (1) a broadband, multi-mode ambient wavefield excited by ocean gravity wave interactions with the ice shelf; (2) body wave reverberations produced by seismic impedance contrasts at the ice/water and water/seafloor interfaces and (3) decoupling of the solid Earth horizontal wavefield by the sub-shelf water column. We analyze seasonal and geographic variations in signal-to-noise ratios for teleseismic P-wave (0.5–2.0 s), S-wave (10–15 s) and surface wave (13–25 s) arrivals relative to the RIS noise field. We use ice and water layer reverberations generated by teleseismic P-waves to accurately estimate the sub-station thicknesses of these layers. We present observations consistent with the theoretically predicted transition of the water column from compressible to incompressible mechanics, relevant for vertically incident solid Earth waves with periods longer than 3 s. Finally, we observe symmetric-mode Lamb waves generated by teleseismic S-waves incident on the grounding zones. Despite their complexity, we conclude that teleseismic coda can be utilized for passive imaging of sub-shelf Earth structure, although longer deployments relative to conventional land-sited seismometers will be necessary to acquire adequate data.This research was supported by NSF grants PLR-1142518, 1141916, 1142126, 1246151, 1246416 and OPP-1744852 and 1744856

The Crustal Thickness of West Antarctica

P-to-S receiver functions (PRFs) from the Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET) GPS and seismic leg of POLENET spanning West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains deployment of seismographic stations provide new estimates of crustal thickness across West Antarctica, including the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS), Marie Byrd Land (MBL) dome, and the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) margin. We show that complications arising from ice sheet multiples can be effectively managed and further information concerning low-velocity subglacial sediment thickness may be determined, via top-down utilization of synthetic receiver function models. We combine shallow structure constraints with the response of deeper layers using a regularized Markov chain Monte Carlo methodology to constrain bulk crustal properties. Crustal thickness estimates range from 17.0±4 km at Fishtail Point in the western WARS to 45±5 km at Lonewolf Nunataks in the TAM. Symmetric regions of crustal thinning observed in a transect deployment across the West Antarctic Ice Sheet correlate with deep subice basins, consistent with pure shear crustal necking under past localized extension. Subglacial sediment deposit thicknesses generally correlate with trough/dome expectations, with the thickest inferred subice low-velocity sediment estimated as ∼0.4 km within the Bentley Subglacial Trench. Inverted PRFs from this study and other published crustal estimates are combined with ambient noise surface wave constraints to generate a crustal thickness map for West Antarctica south of 75°S. Observations are consistent with isostatic crustal compensation across the central WARS but indicate significant mantle compensation across the TAM, Ellsworth Block, MBL dome, and eastern and western sectors of thinnest WARS crust, consistent with low density and likely dynamic, low-viscosity high-temperature mantle

Ross ice shelf vibrations

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 42 (2015): 7589–7597, doi:10.1002/2015GL065284.Broadband seismic stations were deployed across the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) in November 2014 to study ocean gravity wave-induced vibrations. Initial data from three stations 100 km from the RIS front and within 10 km of each other show both dispersed infragravity (IG) wave and ocean swell-generated signals resulting from waves that originate in the North Pacific. Spectral levels from 0.001 to 10 Hz have the highest accelerations in the IG band (0.0025–0.03 Hz). Polarization analyses indicate complex frequency-dependent particle motions, with energy in several frequency bands having distinctly different propagation characteristics. The dominant IG band signals exhibit predominantly horizontal propagation from the north. Particle motion analyses indicate retrograde elliptical particle motions in the IG band, consistent with these signals propagating as Rayleigh-Lamb (flexural) waves in the ice shelf/water cavity system that are excited by ocean wave interactions nearer the shelf front.Bromirski, Diez, and Gerstoft were supported by NSF grant PLR 1246151. Stephen and Bolmer were supported by NSF grant PLR-1246416. Wiens, Aster, and Nyblade were supported under NSF grants PLR-1142518, 1141916, and 1142126, respectively. Bromirski also received support from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways under contract 11-106-107. The NIB data were collected under NSF grant OPP-0229546 and were downloaded from the IRIS DMC archives.2016-03-1

Tsunami and infragravity waves impacting Antarctic ice shelves

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 122 (2017): 5786–5801, doi:10.1002/2017JC012913.The responses of the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) to the 16 September 2015 8.3 (Mw) Chilean earthquake tsunami (>75 s period) and to oceanic infragravity (IG) waves (50–300 s period) were recorded by a broadband seismic array deployed on the RIS from November 2014 to November 2016. Here we show that tsunami and IG-generated signals within the RIS propagate at gravity wave speeds (∼70 m/s) as water-ice coupled flexural-gravity waves. IG band signals show measureable attenuation away from the shelf front. The response of the RIS to Chilean tsunami arrivals is compared with modeled tsunami forcing to assess ice shelf flexural-gravity wave excitation by very long period (VLP; >300 s) gravity waves. Displacements across the RIS are affected by gravity wave incident direction, bathymetry under and north of the shelf, and water layer and ice shelf thicknesses. Horizontal displacements are typically about 10 times larger than vertical displacements, producing dynamical extensional motions that may facilitate expansion of existing fractures. VLP excitation is continuously observed throughout the year, with horizontal displacements highest during the austral winter with amplitudes exceeding 20 cm. Because VLP flexural-gravity waves exhibit no discernable attenuation, this energy must propagate to the grounding zone. Both IG and VLP band flexural-gravity waves excite mechanical perturbations of the RIS that likely promote tabular iceberg calving, consequently affecting ice shelf evolution. Understanding these ocean-excited mechanical interactions is important to determine their effect on ice shelf stability to reduce uncertainty in the magnitude and rate of global sea level rise.NSF Grant Numbers: PLR 1246151, PLR-1246416, PLR-1142518, 1141916, 1142126; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) through the PASSCAL Instrument Center at New Mexico Tech.; National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement Grant Number: EAR-1261681; DOE National Nuclear Security Administration2018-01-2