Lithospheric Structure Above the Northern Appalachian Anomaly: Initial Results From the NEST Array
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Seismic tomography observations show a low‐velocity feature in the upper mantle beneath eastern North America known as the Northern Appalachian Anomaly (NAA). Proposed models for the formation of the NAA include a remnant high‐temperature feature resulting from the passage of the Great Meteor Hotspot, edge‐driven convection, and ongoing asthenospheric upwelling. We investigate the structure of the lithosphere above the central portion of the NAA using data from the New England Seismic Transects (NEST) experiment. Ps receiver functions reveal two consistent interfaces beneath the dense northern line of NEST: the Moho (the base of the crust) and a deeper negative velocity gradient (NVG) feature located at depths between 60 and 110 km. We consider several potential explanations for this NVG feature; based on comparisons with previous results, we propose that it likely corresponds to the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary. Our results indicate that the lithosphere beneath New England is nonuniform and has likely been thinned.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2024gl109955
Language: English
Subfield: Geophysics
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,900
Funder: National Science Foundation
Awards: Collaborative Research: How have orogenesis, rifting, and recent mantle dynamics shaped the lithosphere beneath the New England Appalachians?, Enabling Discoveries in Multiscale Earth System Dynamics: Seismological Facility for the Advancement of GEoscience (SAGE), Collaborative Research: How have orogenesis, rifting, and recent mantle dynamics shaped the lithosphere beneath the New England Appalachians?, Collaborative Research: How have orogenies, rifting, and recent mantle dynamics shaped the lithosphere beneath the New England Appalachians?
OpenAlex ID: W4402900274