Evidence for fast seismic lid structure beneath the Californian margin and its implication on regional plate deformation

Abstract:

The lithospheric structure of the Pacific and North American plates play an important role in modulating plate deformation along the California margin. Pure path models indicate that the Pacific plate has a fast thick (80km) lid overlaying a strong low velocity zone (LVZ) extending to beyond 300 km depth. In contrast, the North America structure is characterized by a relatively thin (25-35km) lid and a shallow LVZ. Vertical ray paths have similar travel times across the plate boundary for the two models, making resolution of the transitional structure difficult. Earthquakes such as the 2014 March 10 Mw 6.8 Mendocino and 2014 August 25 Mw 6.0 Napa events recorded at regional distances across California provide an opportunity to study horizontal paths and track the lateral variation in the lower crust–uppermost mantle structure under the Californian margin. Observations from both Napa and Mendocino events show direct SH-wave arrivals at Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) stations are systematically earlier (up to 10 s) for coastal and island stations relative to inland sites. The shift in SH arrival times may be due to features such as varying crustal thickness, varying upper mantle velocity and the presence of a fast seismic lid. To test the different hypotheses, we perform extensive forward modeling using both 1-D frequency-wavenumber and 3-D finite-difference approaches. The model that best fits the SH arrival times has a fast lid (Vs = 4.7 km/s) underlying the whole California margin, with the lid increasing in thickness from east to west to a maximum thickness about 70 km in the western offshore region. The fast, thick seismic lid lends strength and rigidity to the Pacific plate lithosphere in contrast with the weaker North American continental plate, which influences the overall plate deformation along the Californian margin and is in agreement with GPS measurements.