Tectonic plate motion and mantle dynamics processes are heavily influenced by the characteristics of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), yet this boundary remains enigmatic regarding its properties and geometry. The processes involved in rifting at passive margins result in substantial alteration of the lithosphere through the transition from continental to oceanic lithologies. Here w...

The deep carbon cycle plays an important role on the chemical differentiation and physical properties of the Earth's mantle. Especially in the asthenosphere, seismic low-velocity and high electrical conductivity due to carbon dioxide (CO2)-induced partial melting are expected but not directly observed. Here we discuss the experimental results relevant to the genesis of primitive CO2-rich alkali...

In plate tectonic theory a weak asthenosphere is required to facilitate the motions of rigid plates. Partial melt could weaken mantle, in turn impacting convection, but date existence persistent has remained controversial. A wide range scenarios been reported terms location, amount and pathways melt. Here we use data collected by 39 ocean bottom seismometers deployed near equatorial Mid-Atlanti...

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Keywords: receiver functions lithosphere lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary mid-lithospheric discontinuity To explore how lithospheric structure varies between tectonic and magmatic terranes of the western United States, we use observations of shear-to-compressional wave conversions across lithospheric velocity interfaces. With a newly developed automatic m...

In Northeast Japan, it remains a puzzle to reconcile the mismatch between long-term (geological) uplift and lateinterseismic and coseismic subsidence associated with the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. To explain this mismatch between different periods, we modeled the entire megathrust earthquake cycle in the Northeast Japan arc using a simple dislocation model with a two-layered lithosphere–asthenosph...

This paper tests two hypotheses for the influence of thick lithosphere (the tectosphere) upon plate motion. The first is that the tectosphere reaches down into high-viscosity regions of the asthenosphere, effectively slowing the motion of continental plates. The second is that he tectosphere reaches down below the slow-moving convective boundary layer into regions of rapid mantle convection and...

The Colorado Plateau and its surroundings serve as an archetypal case to investigate the interaction of mantle melting processes lithospheric structure. It has been hypothesized that widespread Cenozoic volcanism indicates encroachment convective upwelling asthenosphere toward center. In this study, we generate a Common Conversion Point (CCP) stack S-to-p (Sp) receiver functions image locations...

[1] We develop a two-dimensional boundary element earthquake cycle model including deep interseismic creep on vertical strike-slip faults in an elastic lithosphere coupled to a viscoelastic asthenosphere. Uniform slip on the upper part of the fault is prescribed periodically to represent great strike-slip earthquakes. Below the coseismic rupture the fault creeps in response to lithospheric shea...