Work

Full‐Waveform Seismic Tomography of the Upper Mantle Beneath the Arabia‐Eurasia Collision Zone

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Despite being one of the most recent major orogenic events, the timing of the Arabia‐Eurasia collision is still debated. Much of the discrepancy arises due to uncertainties over the amount of continental subduction of the Arabian passive margin and the timing of a hard collision of cratonic Arabian lithosphere with Eurasia. Subducted continental lithosphere and underthrusted cratons can be imaged using high resolution seismic tomography, which can be used to improve understanding of the tectonic history of the region. In this study, we perform a full waveform inversion of seismic wave velocity beneath the Turkish‐Iranian plateau, using regional earthquakes, which provide good horizontal and vertical resolution in the upper 500 km of the mantle. We use a normalized cross‐correlation misfit function, which fits both the phase and relative amplitude of multi‐path arrivals, allowing us to extract additional information from complex triplicated waves that provide relatively good coverage of the upper mantle. Our results reveal that 250 km thick Arabian lithosphere extends horizontally beneath Eurasia. When reconstructed back in time, these results indicate that continental underthrusting and collision initiated at ∼22 Ma, which is consistent with accelerated deformation observed at this time in the geological record.

Source: Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems

DOI: 10.1029/2026gc013003

Authors: Edward J. Clennett, Chujie Liu, Stephen P. Grand, Thorsten W. Becker

Institutions: University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, The University of Texas at Austin, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Language: English

Topic: Seismic Imaging and Inversion Techniques

Subfield: Geophysics

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,000