DEEP VELOCITY STRUCTURE AND ITS TECTONIC IMPLICATIONS IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES |
| |
| Authors: | TAN Hao-yuan WANG Zhi |
| |
| Institution: | 1.Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Guangzhou 510301, China;2.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China |
| |
| Abstract: | 3-D VP and VS images of southern Philippines at the 0~100km depths are generated by inverting a large number of travel-time data from the International Seismological Centre(1960-2017)through seismic tomography method. The results show lateral variation exists in the crust and upper mantle:High VP and VS anomalies emerge in mid-west Mindanao and Bohol Island, which might be caused by the combined action of huge magmatism and ophiolite accretion in the lower crust; low velocity anomalies of the upper mantle in the west of Mindanao are consistent with locations of volcanoes on the surface. It, thus, could be inferred that the low velocity anomaly is closely related to magmatic activity. The dense earthquake distribution along plate margin extending to 100km coincides with the strong activity of the Philippine Sea Plate which is located in the northeast and southeast of Mindanao. Relative weak activity of Sulawesi Sea Basin is presented simultaneously. The subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate is mostly concentrated in the crust and the top of the uppermost mantle.
Our tomographic images show that lateral heterogeneities exist in the crust and uppermost mantle of the southern Philippines. Low VP and VS anomalies emerge in Philippine Trench and Cotabato Trench, in contrast, high VP and VS anomalies appear in shallow crust of land area where a large number of earthquakes and magmatic activities develop. This may reflect strong tectonic processes between the Philippine Sea Plate and Philippine Mobile Belt.
Low VP and VS anomalies in the crust of eastern Mindanao coinciding with the location of volcanoes on the surface may show partial melting of crust material caused by dehydration of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate. Such a similar phenomenon can be also seen in the south of Negros Island and Cotabato Trench. Thus we infer that active tectonic behaviors are constrained within the crust of the Philippine Sea Plate, Sulu Sea Basin and Sulawesi Basin.Low VP and VS anomalies of the mantle in the mid-west of Mindanao island are associated with magmatic activity which may be caused by a collision between the east and west part of Mindanao at 5Ma. The fracture system in the west of Mindanao provides the possible passage ways of mantle hot material upwelling, coinciding with the model of geothermal distribution in this area. According to the geochemical analysis, ophiolite observed in Sanbaoyan and the western part of Mindanao could indicate material composition from crust to upper mantle on Eurasian continental margin which may show the evidence of rapid expansion environment of mid-ocean ridge. High VP and VS anomalies in the mantle of northeast and southeast of Mindanao coinciding with the distribution of massive earthquake along boundaries show a well agreement with the shape of the Philippine Sea Plate. Dense earthquake distribution in south Mindanao at 100km shows the Philippine Sea Plate has strong activity and stress accumulation in the upper mantle. On the contrary, the seismicity in southwest Mindanao and Cotabato Trench reduces rapidly at the depth from 50km to 100km, revealing weak subduciton and stress release of Sulawesi Basin in the mantle. |
| |
| Keywords: | seismic tomography P- and S-wave Philippine Sea Plate Sulawesi Sea Basin |
|
|
