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A Taxonomy of Upper-Mantle Stratification in the US
  • Steve Asamoah Boamah Carr,
  • Tolulope Olugboji
Steve Asamoah Boamah Carr
University of Rochester

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Tolulope Olugboji
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Abstract

The investigation of upper mantle structure beneath the US has revealed a growing diversity of discontinuities within, across, and underneath the sub-continental lithosphere. As the complexity and variability of these detected discontinuities increase - e.g., velocity increase/decrease, number of layers and depth - it is hard to judge which constraints are robust and which explanatory models generalize to the largest set of constraints. Much work has been done to image discontinuities of interest using S-waves that convert to P-waves (or reflect back as S-waves). A higher resolution method using P-to-S scattered waves is preferred but often obscured by multiply reflected waves trapped in a shallow layer, limiting the visibility of deeper boundaries. Here, we address the interference problem and re-evaluate upper mantle stratification using filtered Ps-RFs interpreted using unsupervised machine-learning. Robust insight into upper mantle layering is facilitated with CRISP-RF: Clean Receiver-Function Imaging using Sparse Radon Filters. Subsequent sequencing and clustering of the polarity-filtered Ps-RFs into distinct depth-based clusters, clearly distinguishes three discontinuity types: (1) intra-lithosphere discontinuity with no base, (2) intra-lithosphere discontinuity with a top and bottom boundary (3) transitional and sub-lithosphere discontinuities. Our findings contribute a more nuanced understanding of mantle discontinuities, offering new perspectives on the nature of upper mantle layering beneath continents.
06 Jan 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
15 Jan 2024Published in ESS Open Archive