Harmon
Nicholas
Harmon
Nicholas
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ArticleSeismicity properties of the chain transform fault inferred using data from the PI‐LAB experiment(American Geophysical Union, 2023-02-23) Leptokaropoulos, Konstantinos ; Rychert, Catherine A. ; Harmon, Nicholas ; Kendall, John MichaelOceanic transform faults are intriguing in that they do not produce earthquakes as large as might be expected given their dimensions. We use 1‐year of local seismicity (370 events above MC = 2.3) recorded on an array of ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) and geophysical data to study the seismotectonic properties of the Chain transform, located in the equatorial Mid‐Atlantic. We extend our analysis back in time by considering stronger earthquakes (MW ≥ 5.0) from global catalogs. We divide Chain into three areas (east, central, and west) based on historical event distribution, morphology, and multidimensional OBS seismicity cluster analysis. Seismic activity recorded by the OBS is the highest at the eastern area of Chain where there is a lozenge‐shaped topographic high, a negative rMBA gravity anomaly, and only a few historical MW ≥ 5.5 events. OBS seismicity rates are lower in the western and central areas. However, these areas accommodate the majority of seismic moment release, as inferred from both OBS and historical data. Higher b‐values are significantly correlated with lower rMBA and with shallower bathymetry, potentially related to thickened crust. Our results suggest high lateral heterogeneity along Chain. Patches with moderate to low OBS seismicity rates that occasionally host MW ≥ 6.0 earthquakes are interrupted by segments with abundant OBS activity but few historical events with 5.5 ≤ MW < 6.0. This segmentation is possibly due to variable fluid circulation and alteration, which may also change in time.
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ArticleSlab to back-arc to arc: fluid and melt pathways through the mantle wedge beneath the Lesser Antilles(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2023-02-01) Hicks, Stephen P. ; Bie, Lidong ; Rychert, Catherine A. ; Harmon, Nicholas ; Goes, Saskia ; Rietbrock, Andreas ; Wei, Songqiao Shawn ; Collier, Jenny S. ; Henstock, Timothy J. ; Lynch, Lloyd ; Prytulak, Julie ; Macpherson, Colin G. ; Schlaphorst, David ; Wilkinson, Jamie J. ; Blundy, Jonathan D. ; Cooper, George F. ; Davy, Richard G. ; Kendall, John-MichaelVolatiles expelled from subducted plates promote melting of the overlying warm mantle, feeding arc volcanism. However, debates continue over the factors controlling melt generation and transport, and how these determine the placement of volcanoes. To broaden our synoptic view of these fundamental mantle wedge processes, we image seismic attenuation beneath the Lesser Antilles arc, an end-member system that slowly subducts old, tectonized lithosphere. Punctuated anomalies with high ratios of bulk-to-shear attenuation (Qκ−1/Qμ−1 > 0.6) and VP/VS (>1.83) lie 40 km above the slab, representing expelled fluids that are retained in a cold boundary layer, transporting fluids toward the back-arc. The strongest attenuation (1000/QS ~ 20), characterizing melt in warm mantle, lies beneath the back-arc, revealing how back-arc mantle feeds arc volcanoes. Melt ponds under the upper plate and percolates toward the arc along structures from earlier back-arc spreading, demonstrating how slab dehydration, upper-plate properties, past tectonics, and resulting melt pathways collectively condition volcanism.
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ArticleElastic and anelastic adjoint tomography with and full Hessian kernels(Oxford University Press, 2023-03-17) Xie, Yujiang ; Rychert, Catherine A. ; Harmon, NicholasThe elastic and anelastic structures of the Earth offer fundamental constraints for understanding its physical and chemical properties. Deciphering small variations in the velocity and amplitude of seismic waves can be challenging. Advanced approaches such as full-waveform inversion (FWI) can be useful. We rewrite the anelastic Fréchet kernel expression of Fichtner & van Driel using the displacement–stress formulation. We then derive the full Hessian kernel expression for viscoelastic properties. In these formulations, the anelastic Fréchet kernels are computed by the forward strain and a shift of the adjoint strain. This is complementary to the quality factor Q (i.e., inverse attenuation) Fréchet kernel expressions of Fichtner & van Driel that are explicit for the velocity–stress formulation. To reduce disk space and I/O requirements for computing the full Hessian kernels, the elastic full Hessian kernels are computed on the fly, while the full Hessian kernels for Q are computed by a combination of the on-the-fly approach with the parsimonious storage method. Applications of the Fréchet and full Hessian kernels for adjoint tomography are presented for two synthetic 2-D models, including an idealized model with rectangular anomalies and a model that approximates a subduction zone, and one synthetic 3-D model with an idealized geometry. The calculation of the full Hessian kernel approximately doubles the computationally cost per iteration of the inversion; however, the reduced number of iterations and fewer frequency stages required to achieve the same level of convergence make it overall computationally less expensive than the classical Limited-memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (L-BFGS) FWI for the 2-D elastic tested models. We find that the use of full Hessian kernels provides comparable results to the L-BFGS inversion using the improved anelastic Fréchet kernels for the 2-D anelastic models tested for the frequency stage up to 0.5 Hz. Given the computational expense of the Q full Hessian kernel calculation, it is not advantageous to use it in Q inversions at this time until further improvements are made. For the 3-D elastic inversion of the tested model, the full Hessian kernel provides similar image quality to the L-BFGS inversion for the frequency stage up to 0.1 Hz. We observe an improved convergence rate for the full Hessian kernel inversion in comparison to L-BFGS at a higher frequency stage, 0.1–0.2 Hz, and we speculate that at higher frequency stages the use of full Hessian kernels may be more computationally advantageous than the classical L-BFGS for the tested models. Finally, we perform 3-D elastic and Q L-BFGS inversions simultaneously using the rederived Q kernels, which can reduce the computational cost of the inversion by about 1/3 when compared to the classical anelastic adjoint tomography using the additionally defined adjoint source. The recovered Q model is smeared when compared to the recovered elastic model at the investigation frequencies up to 0.5 Hz. Q inversion remains challenging and requires further work. The 2-D and 3-D full Hessian kernels may be used for other purposes for instance resolution analysis in addition to the inversions.
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ArticleSeismic anisotropy indicates organized melt beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge aids seafloor spreading(Geological Society of America, 2023-08-04) Kendall, John Michael ; Schlaphorst, David ; Rychert, Catherine A. ; Harmon, Nicholas ; Agius, Matthew ; Tharimena, SaikiranLithospheric plates diverge at mid-ocean ridges and asthenospheric mantle material rises in response. The rising material decompresses, which can result in partial melting, potentially impacting the driving forces of the system. Yet the geometry and spatial distribution of the melt as it migrates to the ridge axis are debated. Organized melt fabrics can cause strong seismic anisotropy, which can be diagnostic of melt, although this is typically not found at ridges. We present anisotropic constraints from an array of 39 ocean-bottom seismometers deployed on 0–80 Ma lithosphere from March 2016 to March 2017 near the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Local and SKS measurements show anisotropic fast directions away from the ridge axis, which are consistent with strain and associated fabric caused by plate motions with short delay times, δt (<1.1 s). Near the ridge axis, we find several ridge-parallel fast splitting directions, φ, with SKS δt that are much longer (1.7–3.8 s). This is best explained by ridge-parallel sub-vertical orientations of sheet-like melt pockets. This observation is much different than anisotropic patterns observed at other ridges, which typically reflect fabric related to plate motions. One possibility is that thicker sub-ridge lithosphere with steep sub-ridge topography beneath slower spreading centers focuses melt into vertical, ridge-parallel melt bands, which effectively weakens the plate. Associated buoyancy forces elevate the sub-ridge plate, providing greater potential energy and enhancing the driving forces of the plates.
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ArticleBroad fault zones enable deep fluid transport and limit earthquake magnitudes(Nature Research, 2023-09-16) Leptokaropoulos, Konstantinos ; Rychert, Catherine A. ; Harmon, Nicholas ; Schlaphorst, David ; Grevemeyer, Ingo ; Kendall, John Michael ; Singh, Satish C.Constraining the controlling factors of fault rupture is fundamentally important. Fluids influence earthquake locations and magnitudes, although the exact pathways through the lithosphere are not well-known. Ocean transform faults are ideal for studying faults and fluid pathways given their relative simplicity. We analyse seismicity recorded by the Passive Imaging of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary (PI-LAB) experiment, centred around the Chain Fracture Zone. We find earthquakes beneath morphological transpressional features occur deeper than the brittle-ductile transition predicted by simple thermal models, but elsewhere occur shallower. These features are characterised by multiple parallel fault segments and step overs, higher proportions of smaller events, gaps in large historical earthquakes, and seismic velocity structures consistent with hydrothermal alteration. Therefore, broader fault damage zones preferentially facilitate fluid transport. This cools the mantle and reduces the potential for large earthquakes at localized barriers that divide the transform into shorter asperity regions, limiting earthquake magnitudes on the transform.
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ArticleSeismic imaging beneath Cascadia shows shallow mantle flow patterns guide lower mantle upwellings(Wiley, 2023-08-31) Dai, Yuhang ; Rychert, Catherine A. ; Harmon, NicholasThe mantle transition zone (MTZ) plays an important role in modulating material transport between the upper mantle and the lower mantle. Constraining this transport is essential for understanding geochemical reservoirs, hydration cycles, and the evolution of the Earth. Slabs and hotspots are assumed to be the dominant locations of transport. However, the degree of material transport in other areas is debated. We apply P-to-S receiver functions to an amphibious data set from Cascadia to image the MTZ discontinuities beneath mid-ocean ridges, a hotspot, and a subduction zone. We find a MTZ thinned by 10 ± 6 km beneath the ridges and by 8 ± 4 km beneath the base of the slab, closely resembling the 660 discontinuity topography. Depressions on the 410 discontinuity are smaller, 5 ± 2 km on average, focused in the north and the south and accompanied by supra-410 discontinuity melt phases. The depressions occur away from locations of uplifted 660 discontinuity, but near slow seismic velocity anomalies imaged in the upper mantle. This suggests lower mantle upwellings occur beneath ridges and beneath the base of slabs but stall in the transition zone, with upper mantle convection determining upward material transport from the transition zone. Therefore, upper mantle dynamics play a larger role in determining transfer than typically assumed.
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ArticleA global SS precursor method for imaging discontinuities: The Moho and beyond(Royal Astronomical Society, 2024-04-18) Dai, Yuhang ; Tharimena, Saikiran ; Rychert, Catherine A. ; Harmon, NicholasImaging seismic velocity discontinuities within the Earth's interior offers important insight into our understanding of the tectonic plate, associated mantle dynamics, and the evolution of the planet. However, imaging velocity discontinuities in locations where station coverage is sparse, is sometimes challenging. Here we demonstrate the effectiveness of a new imaging approach using deconvolved SS precursor phases. We demonstrate its effectiveness by applying it to synthetic seismograms. We also apply it to ∼1.6 M SS precursor waveforms from the global seismic database (1990–2018) for comparison with CRUST1.0. We migrate to depth and stack the data in circular 6° bins. The synthetic tests demonstrate that we can recover Moho depths as shallow as 20 km. Globally, the Moho is resolved at 21–67 km depth beneath continental regions. The Moho increases in depth from 21 km ± 4 km beneath the continental shelf to 45–50 km beneath the continental interiors and is as deep as 67 ± 4 km beneath Tibet. We resolve the Moho in 77 percent of all continental bins, within 10 km of CRUST1.0, with all outliers located in coastal regions. We also demonstrate the feasibility of using this method to image discontinuities associated with the mantle transition zone with both synthetic and real data. Overall, the approach shows broad promise for imaging mantle discontinuities.