In this thesis, I analyze seismic signals collected during two passive-source broadband seismic deployments that instrumented tectonic boundaries with opposing plate motion—the heavily sedimented forearc of the obliquely convergent Indo-Burman subduction zone and the Malawi rift of the divergent East African rift system—as part of the BIMA and SEGMeNT experiments. These two settings provide unprecedented opportunities to broaden the extent of our understanding of tectonic processes and linkages between atmosphere-to-solid earth seismic coupling, respectively. The Indo-Burman forearc represents an extreme endmember system for sedimentary accretion underneath Earth’s largest delta, while the Malawi rift contains one of the widest and deepest freshwater bodies and one of the first to be instrumented by a seismic array from lake bottom to lake shore. Collectively, this work represents a diverse set of seismic observations that improve our understanding of environmental and tectonic systems across a range of scales, from oblique convergence under heavy sedimentation to energy transfer between the atmosphere and the solid earth.
Using the BIMA dataset, we investigate the seismic shear-velocity structure across the extensive sediment blanket, crust, and uppermost mantle of the Indo-Burman forearc margin to robustly constrain subsurface structure and lithology. We construct a comprehensive three- dimensional survey of seismic shear velocity across the region using a joint-inversion of surface- and scattered-wave constraints that explicitly parameterizes key boundary layers. We extract measurements of Rayleigh-wave phase velocities from (1) interstation Rayleigh wavefields produced from the cross-correlation and spectral waveform fitting of ambient seismic noise between 12-25 s period and (2) intra-array Rayleigh-wave phase variations form regional and teleseismic earthquakes propagating across the array between 20-80 s period, in order to constrain absolute shear velocities throughout the model. To constrain the depths to and amplitudes of significant velocity interfaces, we also develop a generalized-Radon-transform migration image across the array and incorporate the resulting scattered-wave measurements into the joint inversion. Together, these measurements complement each other’s individual limitations and allow for a comprehensive modeling analysis.
Overall, the Bengal basin appears markedly slower than other heavily sedimented basins observed globally. East-west dispersion variations highlight a deepening slow structure to the east, which suggests a basin geometry primarily controlled by a down-dipping slab interface as opposed to central basin loading. Scattered-wave imaging captures three important interfaces in the velocity architecture underlying the region. Within the joint-inversion modeling, we observe two model classes that emblemize the evolution of consolidation and stress state within the uppermost sediments and metasediments along a predominantly northeast-southwest trend. We interpret variations in deeper seismic structure under two proposed scenarios: (1) a Moho at ~21-26 km underlying a package of metasediments and a thin oceanic crust, with a slow mantle lithosphere that may contain retained melt from the onset of India-Antarctica seafloor spreading; or (2) a Moho at ~50-59 km underlying a package of metasediments and a thick slug of mafic material, which may correspond to significant underplating from the Kerguelen hotspot at the time of creation of the subducting crust. These findings improve our understanding of sediment evolution and tectonic architecture across the Indo-Burman forearc margin.
Using the amphibious SEGMeNT data at Lake Malawi, we explore variations in the spectral character of lake-generated microseisms to investigate the dominant parameters controlling seismic coupling between water and the solid earth. We document clear evidence for two spectral peaks in the lake microseism band, and relate variations in spectral behavior as a function of recording depth and proximity to steep lake-floor slopes and shorelines to suggest that these spectral bands may correspond to single- and double-frequency generation processes, akin to primary and secondary ocean microseisms. Some observations are otherwise complex and inconsistent with traditional microseism theory, indicating that signals may alternatively reflect interactions between differing source regions within separate basins of the lake under exclusively double-frequency generation processes, an ambiguity that might have been resolved with the availability of colocated wind and wave-state data sets.
This dissertation work highlights the value of array-based seismic deployments and the incorporation of complementary data types for exploring the detailed structure and evolution of systems, especially in high-noise settings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:columbia.edu/oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/y1rg-yz65 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Carchedi, Christopher |
| Source Sets | Columbia University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Theses |
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