A new high-resolution 3-dimensional P-wave velocity model for Mt. Pinatubo volcano was developed by tomographic inversion of P-wave arrivals from 3,007 earthquakes recorded during a four month period from May to August, 1991. The arrivals were recorded by a network of seismic stations, consisting of seven pre-eruption stations and seven post-eruption stations. Two stations survived the June eruptions. First-arrival travel times were calculated using a finite-difference solution to the eikonal equation. An iterative, linearized approximation of the nonlinear tomography problem was used to solve separately for both velocity structure and hypocenter locations. Several inversions performed with different initial parameters and convergence schemes, and synthetic checkerboard reconstructions indicate a horizontal spatial resolution of velocity perturbations near 4 km. However, the network sparseness allows for a substantial trade-off between focal depth, origin time, and the vertical velocity profile. Many hypocenter clusters collapse from diffuse clouds into tighter features after 3-D relocation. These bands of earthquakes appear to represent fault-related structures. Three low-velocity (relative to the horizontal average) anomalies exist within the well-resolved portion of the velocity model. These anomalies are spatially associated with pre- and post-eruption earthquakes oriented along mapped surface fault zones. Similar anomalies observed at different volcanoes have been previously interpreted as magma related. The low-velocity anomalies at Pinatubo are interpreted as highly fractured, hot volumes of mostly competent rock, which may contain partial melt. / Master of Science

The effects of lithology, fracturing, and gouge zone mineralization on the geophysical properties of fault zones are not very well understood. In situ seismic data collected over the exhumed San Gregorio Fault at Moss Beach, CA were used to relate in situ compressional wave velocity to internal fault zone properties. This active strike-slip fault is exposed in cross section on an uplifting and actively eroding wave-cut platform. It cuts shallow marine sediments that have been buried to depths of a few kilometers. The unweathered exposure containing seawater makes it a unique analog of subsurface faults. Previous structural analysis over this exposure observed damage caused by faulting over a ~100 m wide zone in cross-section. The fault zone is centered at a 10-17 m wide clay-rich fault core flanked by a ~30 m wide brecciated gouge zone. These gouge zones are bordered on either side by 30-40 m wide fractured zones. Resolving to a scale of a few meters, the seismic survey produced a continuous P-wave velocity profile analogous to a horizontal well log across the fault. Lateral variations in the velocity profile correlate exactly to previously mapped fault zone structure. The clay core and adjacent brecciated gouge create a ~50 m wide very low velocity zone, 25-50% slower than the surrounding host rock. Fractured bedrock on either side of the core causes a wider zone of 5-10% slow velocity, for a total fault signature ~100 m wide. Fault parallel fracture anisotropy was observed in the fractured zones, but surprizingly anisotropy was not observed in the strongly foliated gouge zones. The field measurements differ significantly from laboratory measurements at zero pressure and in some cases from expected values for saturated rock of this porosity, perhaps due to biased rock sampling, the long wavelength effects of macrofractures, frequency dispersion, and partial saturation. The velocity profile is similar in width and consistent in velocity contrast to low S-wave velocity zones derived from fault zone guided waves in other strike-slip faults. The traveltime delay across the fault zone is not large enough to cause the 2-3 km wide crustal low velocity zones modeled by refraction studies. Synthetic reflection seismograms in the typical frequency range show that the fault zone acts as a thick bed or as a constructively interfering thin bed. The models suggest that very large reflection coefficients observed across accretionary prism faults can be explained by fracturing, brecciation and clay content without elevated pore pressures. Comparison with a refraction study across the Punchbowl Fault shows a similar structural zonation of these two well-studied examples of brittle fault zones. This suggests that high-resolution seismic velocity models can be used to directly interpret internal deformation structure of brittle faults. / Master of Science

The asthenosphere, a weak layer beneath the rigid lithosphere, plays a fundamental role in the operation of plate tectonics and mantle convection. While this layer is often characterized by low seismic velocity and high seismic attenuation, the global structure of the asthenosphere remains poorly understood. In this dissertation, twelve years of SS precursors reflected off the top and bottom of the asthenosphere, namely, the LAB and the 220-km discontinuity, are processed to investigate the boundaries of the asthenosphere at a global scale. Finite-frequency sensitivities are used in tomography to account for wave diffraction effects that cannot be modeled in global ray-theoretical tomography. Strong SS precursors reflected off the LAB and the 220-km discontinuity are observed across the global oceans and continents. In oceanic regions, the LAB is characterized by a large velocity drop of about 12.5%, which can be explained by 1.5%-2% partial melt in the oceanic asthenosphere. The depth of the Lithosphere Asthenosphere Boundary is about 120 km, and its average depth is independent of seafloor age. This observation supports the existence of a constant-thickness plate in the global oceans. The base of the asthenosphere is imaged at a depth of about 250 km in both oceanic and continental areas, with a velocity jump of about ∼ 7% across the interface. This finding suggests that the asthenosphere in oceanic and continental regions share the same defining mechanism. The depth perturbations of the oceanic 220-km discontinuity roughly follow the seafloor age contours. The 220-km topography is smoother beneath slower-spreading seafloors while it becomes rougher beneath faster-spreading seafloors. In addition, the roughness of the 220-km discontinuity increases rapidly with spreading rate at slow spreading seafloors, whereas the increase in roughness is much slower at fast spreading seafloors. This observation indicates that the thermal and compositional structures of seafloors formed at spreading centers may have a long-lasting impact on asthenospheric convections. In continental regions, a broad correlation is observed between the 220-km discontinuity depth structure and surface tectonics. For example, the 220-km discontinuity depth is shallower along the southern border of the Eurasian plate as well as the Pacific subduction zones. However, there is no apparent correlation between 3-D seismic wavespeed in the upper mantle and the depths of the 220-km discontinuity, indicating that secular cooling has minimum impact on the base of the asthenosphere. / Doctor of Philosophy / In classic plate tectonic theory, the outermost shell of the Earth consists of a small number of rigid plates (lithosphere) moving horizontally on the mechanically weak asthenosphere. In the classic half space cooling (HSC) model, the lithosphere is formed by gradual cooling of the hot mantle. Therefore, the thickness of the plate depends on the age of the seafloor. The problem with the HSC model is that bathymetry and heat flow measurements at old seafloors do not follow its predicted age dependence. A modified theory, called plate cooling model, can better explain those geophysical observations by assuming additional heat at the base of an oceanic plate with a constant thickness of about 125 km. However, such a constant-thickness plate has not been observed in seismology. In this thesis, the asthenosphere boundaries are imaged using a global dataset of seismic waves reflected off the Earth's internal boundaries. Strong reflections from the top of the asthenosphere are observed across all major oceans. The amplitudes of the SS precursors can be explained by 1.5%-2% of partial melt in the asthenosphere. The average boundary depths are independent of seafloor age, and this observation supports the existence of a constant-thickness plate in the global oceans with a complex origin. The 220-km discontinuity, also called the Lehmann Discontinuity, was incorporated in the Preliminary Reference Earth Model in the 1980's to represent the base of the asthenosphere. However, the presence and nature of this boundary have remained controversial, particularly in the oceanic regions. In contrast to many studies which suggest the 220-km discontinuity does not exist in the global oceans, SS precursors reflected from this interface are observed across the oceanic regions in this thesis. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between the topography of the 220-km discontinuity and seafloor spreading rate. Specifically, the 220-km discontinuity is smoother beneath slower-spreading seafloors and much rougher beneath faster-spreading seafloors. In addition, the roughness increases faster at slowerspreading seafloors while much more gradual at faster-spreading seafloors. This indicates a close connection between seafloor spreading and mantle convections in the asthenosphere, and seafloors have permanent memories of their birth places. Different melting processes at slow and fast spreading centers produce seafloors with different physical and chemical properties, modulating convections in the asthenosphere and ultimately shaping the topography of the 220-km discontinuity. Reflections from the 220-km discontinuity are also observed across the global continental regions. In addition, the 220-km discontinuity beneath the continents is comparable to that under oceanic regions in terms of their average depth (∼ 250 km) and velocity contrast across the discontinuity (∼ 7%). In continental regions, there is a general connection between the 220-km depth structure and plate tectonics. For example, the boundary is shallower along the southern border of the Eurasian plate from the Mediterranean region to East Asia where mountain belts were formed as a result of collision between the Eurasian plate and the Nubian, Arabian and Indian plates. Depth perturbations of the 220-km discontinuity are also observed along the Pacific subduction zones including the Cascadia Subduction Zone, Peru-Chile Trench and Japan-Kuril Kamchatka Trench. In addition, depth anomalies are mapped in the interior of continents, for example, along the foothills of high topography in the interior of the Eurasian plate, which may be controlled by far-field convection associated with the convergent processes at the plate boundaries.

abstract: The interior of Earth is stratified due to gravity. Therefore, the lateral heterogeneities observed as seismic anomalies by seismologists are extremely interesting: they hold the key to understand the composition, thermal status and evolution of the Earth. This work investigates seismic anomalies inside Earth’s lowermost mantle and focuses on patch-like ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs) found on Earth’s core-mantle boundary (CMB). Firstly, all previous ULVZ studies are compiled and ULVZ locations on the CMB are digitized. The result is a database, which is publicly available online. A key finding is that there is not a simple mapping between the locations of the observed ULVZs and the large low velocities provinces (LLVPs). Instead, ULVZs are more likely to occur near LLVP boundaries. This spatial correlation study supports a compositionally distinct origin for at least some ULVZs. Next, the seismic structure of the basal mantle beneath the Central America is investigated. This region hosts present and past subducted slabs, which could have brought compositionally distinct oceanic basalt all the way down to the CMB. The waveform distortions of a core-reflected seismic phase and a forward modeling method are used to constrain the causes of the CMB structures. In addition to ULVZ structures, isolated patches of thin zones with shear velocity increased by over 10% relative to background mantle are found for the first time. Ultra-high velocity zones (UHVZs) are interspersed with ULVZs and could be caused by subducted mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) that undergoes partial melting and melt segregation. Fe-rich partial melt of MORB can form ULVZs, and silica polymorphs (SiO2) and calcium-perovskite (CaPv) rich solid residue can explain the UHVZs. Finally, large-scale heterogeneities in the lowermost mantle are investigated using S waveform broadening observations. Several basal layer models are case-studied via synthetic calculations. S wave arrivals received at a distance larger than 80˚ in a global dataset from large earthquakes between the years 1994 and 2017 are examined and S waveform broadenings are documented. This approach exploits large distance data for the first time, and therefore is complementary to previous studies in terms of sampling locations. One possible explanation of S waveform broadening is velocity discontinuity inside the D″ layer due to the temperature controlled Bm-pPv phase transition. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 2020

The structure of fault zones (FZs) plays an important role in understanding fault mechanics, earthquake rupture and seismic hazards. Fault zone seismic guided waves (GW) carry important information about internal structure of the low-velocity fault damage zone. Numerical modeling of observed FZGWs has been used to construct models of FZ structure. However, the depth extent of the waveguide and the uniqueness of deep structure in the models have been debated. Elastic finite-difference synthetic seismograms were generated for FZ models that include an increase in seismic velocity with depth both inside and outside the FZ. Strong GWs were created from sources both in and out of the waveguide, in contrast with previous homogenous-FZ studies that required an in-fault source to create GW. This is because the frequency-dependent trapping efficiency of the waveguide changes with depth. The near-surface fault structure efficiently guides waves at lower frequencies than the deeper fault. Fault structure at seismogenic depth requires the analysis of data at higher frequencies than the GWs that dominate at the surface. Adapting a two-station technique from surface wave studies, dispersive differential group arrival times between two earthquakes can be used to solve for FZ structures between the earthquakes. This method was tested with synthetic data and shallow events recorded in the SAFOD borehole in the San Andreas Fault. A pair of deep earthquakes recorded in the SAFOD borehole indicate a ~150 m wide San Andreas Fault waveguide with >20% velocity contrast at 10-12 km depth. With additional earthquakes, the full FZ structure at seismogenic depth could be imaged. Subsurface FZ structure can also be derived from a surface source and receiver array analogous to a body-wave refraction survey. Synthetic seismograms for such source-receiver geometry were generated and verified that FZGWs are refracted by the increase in velocity with depth. Synthetic data from a surface array were successfully inverted to derive FZ structure in the subsurface. The new methods presented in this dissertation extend the potential of FZGWs to image deeper FZ structure than has been uniquely constrained in the past. / Ph. D.

The primary focus of this thesis is to examine the detailed seismic structure of the northern Cascadia margin, including the Cascadia basin, the deformation front and the continental shelf. The results of this study are contributing towards understanding sediment deformation and tectonics on this margin. They also have important implications for exploration of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) and natural hazards (submarine landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, and climate change). The first part of this thesis focuses on the role of gas hydrate in slope failure observed from multibeam bathymetry data on a frontal ridge near the deformation front off Vancouver Island margin using active-source ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) data collected in 2010. Volume estimates (∼ 0.33 km^3) of the slides observed on this margin indicate that these are capable of generating large (∼ 1 − 2 m) tsunamis. Velocity models from travel time inversion of wide angle reflections and refractions recorded on OBSs and vertical incidence single channel seismic (SCS) data were used to estimate gas hydrate concentrations using effective medium modeling. Results indicate a shallow high velocity hydrate layer with a velocity of 2.0 − 2.1 km/s that corresponds to a hydrate concentration of 40% at a depth of 100 m, and a bottom simulating reflector (BSR) at a depth of 265 − 275 m beneath the seafloor (mbsf). These are comparable to drilling results on an adjacent frontal ridge. Margin perpendicular normal faults that extend down to BSR depth were also observed on SCS and bathymetric data, two of which coincide with the sidewalls of the slump indicating that the lateral extent of the slump is controlled by these faults. Analysis of bathymetric data indicates, for the first time, that the glide plane occurs at the same depth as the shallow high velocity layer (100±10 mbsf). In contrast, the glide plane coincides with the depth of the BSR on an adjacent frontal ridge. In either case, our results suggest that the contrast in sediments strengthened by hydrates and overlying or underlying sediments where there is no hydrate is what causing the slope failure on this margin. The second part of this dissertation focuses on obtaining the detailed structure of the Cascadia basin and frontal ridge region using mirror imaging of few widely spaced OBS data. Using only a small airgun source (120 cu. in.), our results indicate structures that were previously not observed on the northern Cascadia margin. Specifically, OBS migration results show dual-vergence structure, which could be related to horizontal compression associated with subduction and low basal shear stress resulting from over-pressure. Understanding the physical and mechanical properties of the basal layer has important implications for understanding earthquakes on this margin. The OBS migrated image also clearly shows the continuity of reflectors which enabled the identification of thrust faults, and also shows the top of the igneous oceanic crust at 5−6 km beneath the seafloor, which were not possible to identify in single-channel and low-fold multi-channel seismic (MCS) data. The last part of this thesis focuses on obtaining detailed seismic structure of the Vancouver Island continental shelf from MCS data using frequency domain viscoacoustic full waveform inversion, which is first of its kind on this margin. Anelastic velocity and attenuation models, derived in this study to subseafloor depths of ∼ 2 km, are useful in understanding the deformation within the Tofino basin sediments, the nature of basement structures and their relationship with underlying accreted terranes such as the Crescent and the Pacific Rim terranes. Specifically, our results indicate a low-velocity zone (LVZ) with a contrast of 200 m/s within the Tofino basin sediment section at a depth 600 − 1000 mbsf over a lateral distance of 10 km. This LVZ is associated with high attenuation values (0.015 − 0.02) and could be a result of over pressured sediments or lithology changes associated with a high porosity layer in this potential hydrocarbon environment. Shallow high velocities of 4 − 5 km/s are observed in the mid-shelf region at depths > 1.5 km, which is interpreted as the shallowest occurrence of the Eocene volcanic Crescent terrane. The sediment velocities sharply increase about 10 km west of Vancouver Island, which probably corresponds to the underlying transition to the Mesozoic marine sedimentary Pacific Rim terrane. High attenuation values of 0.03 − 0.06 are observed at depths > 1 km, which probably corresponds to increased clay content and the presence of mineralized fluids. / Graduate / 0373 / 0372 / 0605 / subbarao@uvic.ca