Receiver function imaging of lithospheric structure and the onset of melting beneath the Galápagos Archipelago

Rychert, Catherine A., Harmon, Nicholas and Ebinger, Cynthia (2014) Receiver function imaging of lithospheric structure and the onset of melting beneath the Galápagos Archipelago. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 388, 156-165. (doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2013.11.027).

Abstract

The Galápagos Archipelago represents an opportunity to investigate the properties of young oceanic lithosphere, the effects of a hotspot anomaly on lithospheric thickness, and melting dynamics in a hotspot-ridge interaction. Here we use data recorded by the SIGNET array and permanent station PAYG on the Islands Santa Cruz and Isabela, respectively. We used P-to-S (Ps) and S-to-P (Sp) receiver functions to constrain crust and mantle structure. A simultaneous deconvolution method was used to constrain 1-D structure and also for the modeling of robust features. A migrated extended multitaper method was used to investigate 3-D structural variations. Ps images a velocity increase with depth at 11±7 km, probably the base of the pre-plume crust, or old Moho. Sp imaging and modeling images a second, deeper velocity increase at 37±7 km depth. A velocity decrease with depth is imaged on average at 75±12 km likely associated with the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. This discontinuity is imaged deeper, 82 km, in the southwest and shallower, 66 km, in the northeast near the spreading ridge. Although the trend is consistent with lithospheric thickening with age, the thickness is much larger than predicted by conductive cooling models of 5–10 My oceanic lithosphere. We infer a compositional contribution to velocity variations. Finally, a velocity increase with depth is imaged at ?125 to 145±15 km depth that is likely associated with the onset of melting. The discontinuity is imaged deeper in 3 sectors of the Galápagos platform-ridge region, all coincident with the slowest surface wave shear velocity anomalies in the upper 100 km. One is located in the southwest in a hypothesized plume location. The other two are to the northwest and northeast, possibly illuminating multiple plume diversions related to complex plume–ridge interactions.

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Contributors

Author: Nicholas Harmon

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