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International audienceDifferences in the thickness of the high-velocity lid underlying continents as imaged by seismic tomography, have fuelled a long debate on the origin of the 'roots' of continents(1-5). Some of these differences may be reconciled by observations of radial anisotropy between 250 and 300 km depth, with horizontally polarized shear waves travelling faster than vertically polarized ones(2). This azimuthally averaged anisotropy could arise from present-day deformation at the base of the plate, as has been found for shallower depths beneath ocean basins(6). Such deformation would also produce significant azimuthal variation, owing to the preferred alignment of highly anisotropic minerals(7). Here we report global observations of surface-wave azimuthal anisotropy, which indicate that only the continental portion of the Australian plate displays significant azimuthal anisotropy and strong correlation with present-day plate motion in the depth range 175 - 300 km. Beneath other continents, azimuthal anisotropy is only weakly correlated with plate motion and its depth location is similar to that found beneath oceans. We infer that the fast-moving Australian plate contains the only continental region with a sufficiently large deformation at its base to be transformed into azimuthal anisotropy. Simple shear leading to anisotropy with a plunging axis of symmetry may explain the smaller azimuthal anisotropy beneath other continents

SUMMARY We use observations of surface faulting, well‐constrained earthquake focal mechanisms and centroid depths, and velocity structure determined by surface wave propagation and teleseismic receiver functions to investigate the present‐day deformation and kinematics in and around the South Caspian Basin. The lack of earthquakes within the basin itself indicates that it behaves as a rigid block, though its sedimentary cover is deformed by numerous folds that are decoupled from its rigid basement by overpressured mud. The basin contains a sedimentary sequence almost 20 km thick above a relatively high‐velocity basement that is thinner within the basin than on its margins. The basement beneath the basin could be either unusually thick oceanic crust or thinned, but relatively high‐velocity, continental crust. The South Caspian Basin is surrounded by active earthquake belts on all sides. No earthquakes deeper than 30 km can be confirmed in the Kopeh Dag, Alborz and Talesh, which bound the NE, S and W sides of the basin. In contrast, earthquakes occur to depths of at least 80 km on the Apsheron–Balkhan sill, which bounds the N side of the basin and where no earthquakes can be confirmed that are shallower than 30 km. We interpret these deeper earthquakes to indicate the onset of subduction of the South Caspian Basin beneath the central Caspian, a process that appears to occur aseismically at shallow levels. Although oblique shortening is partitioned into pure strike‐slip and pure thrust in many areas, conjugate right‐lateral and left‐lateral components in the Kopeh Dag and eastern Alborz suggest that the South Caspian Basin has a westward component of motion relative to both Eurasia and Iran. This motion enhances westward underthrusting of the basin beneath the Talesh mountains of Iran and Azerbaijan. We estimate the present motions of the South Caspian Basin to be ∼ 13–17 mm yr−1 to the SW relative to Iran (a maximum value) and ∼ 8–10 mm yr−1 to the NW or NNW relative to Eurasia. We suspect that these motions are all relatively recent, and may have begun only in the Pliocene (3–5 Ma). The South Caspian Basin will ultimately be destroyed by subduction or underthrusting and its present situation may represent an intermediate stage between that of the eastern Mediterranean and that of the seismically active slab beneath the Hindu Kush.