Seismic data from central Tibet have been combined to image the subsurface structure and understand the evolution of the collision of India and Eurasia. The 410- and 660-kilometer mantle discontinuities are sharply defined, implying a lack of a subducting slab beneath the plateau. The discontinuities appear slightly deeper beneath northern Tibet, implying that the average temperature of the mantle above the transition zone is about 300 degrees C hotter in the north than in the south. There is a prominent south-dipping converter in the uppermost mantle beneath northern Tibet that might represent the top of the Eurasian mantle lithosphere underthrusting the northern margin of the plateau.

No abstract

Summary In the summer of 1998, project INDEPTH recorded a 400 km long NNW–SSE wide‐angle seismic profile in central Tibet, from the Lhasa terrane across the Banggong‐Nujiang suture (BNS) at about 89.5°E and into the Qiangtang terrane. Analysis of the P‐wave data reveals that (1) the crustal thickness is 65 ± 5 km beneath the line; (2) there is no 20 km step in the Moho in the vicinity of the BNS, as has been suggested to exist along‐strike to the east based on prior fan profiling; (3) a thick high‐velocity lower crustal layer is evident along the length of the profile (20–35 km thick, 6.5–7.3 km s−1); and (4) in contrast to the southern Lhasa terrane, there is no obvious evidence of a mid‐crustal low‐velocity layer in the P‐wave data, although the data do not negate the possibility of such a layer of modest proportions. Combining the results from the INDEPTH III wide‐angle profile with other seismic results allows a cross‐section of Moho depths to be constructed across Tibet. This cross‐section shows that crustal thickness tends to decrease from south to north, with values of 70–80 km south of the middle of the Lhasa terrane, 60–70 km in the northern part of the Lhasa terrane and the Qiangtang terrane, and less than 60 km in the Qaidam basin. The overall northward thinning of the crust evident in the combined seismic observations, coupled with the essentially uniform surface elevation of the plateau south of the Qaidam basin, is supportive of the inference that northern Tibet until the Qaidam basin is underlain by somewhat thinner crust, which is isostatically supported by relatively low‐density, hot upper mantle with respect to southern Tibet.

On 16 September 2015, the MW = 8.2 Illapel megathrust earthquake ruptured the Central Chilean margin. Combining inversions of displacement measurements and seismic waveforms with high frequency (HF) teleseismic backprojection, we derive a comprehensive description of the rupture, which also predicts deep ocean tsunami wave heights. We further determine moment tensors and obtain accurate depth estimates for the aftershock sequence. The earthquake nucleated near the coast but then propagated to the north and updip, attaining a peak slip of 5–6 m. In contrast, HF seismic radiation is mostly emitted downdip of the region of intense slip and arrests earlier than the long period rupture, indicating smooth slip along the shallow plate interface in the final phase. A superficially similar earthquake in 1943 with a similar aftershock zone had a much shorter source time function, which matches the duration of HF seismic radiation in the recent event, indicating that the 1943 event lacked the shallow slip.

The terminal stage of subduction sets in when the continental margin arrives at the trench and the opposite forces of the sinking slab and buoyant continent extend and ultimately sever the subducted lithosphere. This process, although common in geological history, is short-lived, and therefore rarely observed. The deep seismicity under the Hindu Kush (Central Asia), including the 2015 M w 7.5 event, is a rare case that testifies to this process. Here, we use new seismological data to create a high resolution picture of slab break-off and infer its dynamics. High precision earthquake locations and tomographic images show subduction of continental crust down to ~180 km. A large dataset of source mechanisms indicates sub-vertical extension in the entire slab but a strain rate analysis showed that the deeper seismogenic portion of the slab, below the subducted crust, extends at higher rates (~40 km/Ma). Most M w >7 earthquakes between 1983-2015, relocated relative to our new well-constrained earthquake catalog, cluster in a small volume below 180 km, and indicate shearing on an overturned interface. A slip model for the latest 2015 M w 7.5 event suggests that it ruptured into a seismic gap on this interface. From this configuration we conclude that a horizontal slab tear develops along-strike of the Hindu Kush seismic zone at the base of the subducted continental crust. Below the subducted crust, the deepest and also largest earthquakes (180-265 km) are likely associated with deformation in the mantle lithosphere. From the seismicity distribution and the rupture mechanisms we further deduce that the dominant deformation mechanism in this deeper portion of the slab changes along-strike from simple to pure shear. The fastest detachment rates and largest earthquakes occur during the simple shear dominated stage. Earthquakes in the upper part (60-180 km), above the rapidly extending slab, might be triggered by processes related to the subduction of crustal rocks.