Crustal and uppermost mantle structure in the central U.S. encompassing the Midcontinent Rift

Rayleigh wave phase velocities across the western arm of the Midcontinent Rift (MCR) and surrounding regions are mapped by ambient noise (8–40 s) and earthquake tomography (25–80 s) applied to data from more than 120 Earthscope/USArray stations across the central U.S. Receiver functions also are computed for those stations using harmonic stripping. Joint Bayesian Monte Carlo inversion is applied to generate 3‐D posterior distributions of shear wave speeds (Vsv) in the crust and uppermost mantle to a depth of about 150 km, providing an overview of the seismic structure of the MCR and adjacent structures. Three major structural attributes are identified: (1) There is a high correlation between the long‐wavelength gravity field and shallow Vs structure, but the MCR gravity high is obscured by clastic sediments in the shallow crust. This is consistent with an upper crustal origin to the MCR gravity anomaly as well as other anomalies in the region. (2) Thick crust (>47 km) underlies the MCR, but there is a gradient Moho in the northern part of the rift and a sharp Moho in the south. Thickened crust beneath the MCR is evidence for postrifting compression with pure‐shear deformation along the entire rift; along‐rift differences in lower crustal structure may signify magmatic underplating in the northern rift. (3) Crustal shear wave speeds vary across the Precambrian sutures (e.g., Great Lakes Tectonic Zone, Spirit Lakes Tectonic Zone). This reveals the importance of Precambrian sutures in the subsequent tectonic evolution of the central U.S.

[1]  Thomas Meier,et al.  Mapping the Moho with seismic surface waves: A review, resolution analysis, and recommended inversion strategies , 2013 .

[2]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crustal radial anisotropy across Eastern Tibet and the Western Yangtze Craton , 2013 .

[3]  T. Jordan.  Mineralogies, Densities and Seismic Velocities of Garnet Lherzolites and their Geophysical Implications , 2013 .

[4]  J. Paces,et al.  Lower-Crustal Xenoliths from Jurassic Kimberlite Diatremes, Upper Michigan (USA): Evidence for Proterozoic Orogenesis and Plume Magmatism in the Lower Crust of the Southern Superior Province , 2013 .

[5]  Shin-Chan Han,et al.  Source parameter inversion for recent great earthquakes from a decade‐long observation of global gravity fields , 2013 .

[6]  Michael H. Ritzwoller,et al.  Joint inversion of surface wave dispersion and receiver functions: a Bayesian Monte-Carlo approach , 2013 .

[7]  Stephen S. Gao,et al.  Crustal thickness and Moho sharpness beneath the Midcontinent rift from receiver functions , 2013 .

[8]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  A 3‐D model of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the Central and Western US by joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion , 2013 .

[9]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  The structure of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath South China from ambient noise and earthquake tomography , 2012 .

[10]  N. K. Pavlis,et al.  The development and evaluation of the Earth Gravitational Model 2008 (EGM2008) , 2012 .

[11]  Malcolm Sambridge,et al.  Transdimensional inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion , 2012 .

[12]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crust and uppermost mantle beneath the North China Craton, northeastern China, and the Sea of Japan from ambient noise tomography , 2011 .

[13]  Anatoli L. Levshin,et al.  A synoptic view of the distribution and connectivity of the mid-crustal low velocity zone beneath Tibet , 2011 .

[14]  S. Stein,et al.  Learning from failure: The spree mid-continent rift experiment , 2011 .

[15]  Michael H. Ritzwoller,et al.  Ambient noise tomography with a large seismic array , 2011 .

[16]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Helmholtz surface wave tomography for isotropic and azimuthally anisotropic structure , 2011 .

[17]  L. Heaman,et al.  The geochemistry, geochronology and paleomagnetism of dikes and sills associated with the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada , 2010 .

[18]  W. Mooney,et al.  The North American upper mantle: Density, composition, and evolution , 2010 .

[19]  Jeffrey Park,et al.  Mapping seismic anisotropy using harmonic decomposition of receiver functions: An application to Northern Apennines, Italy , 2010 .

[20]  J. A. Snoke,et al.  Rayleigh-wave phase-velocity maps and three-dimensional shear velocity structure of the western US from local non-plane surface wave tomography , 2010 .

[21]  H. Thybo,et al.  No Moho uplift below the Baikal Rift Zone: Evidence from a seismic refraction profile across sout , 2009 .

[22]  Roel Snieder,et al.  Eikonal tomography: surface wave tomography by phase front tracking across a regional broad‐band seismic array , 2009 .

[23]  M. Wysession,et al.  Crustal structure beneath the Florida‐to‐Edmonton broadband seismometer array , 2009 .

[24]  H. Thybo,et al.  Magma-compensated crustal thinning in continental rift zones , 2009, Nature.

[25]  Morgan P. Moschetti,et al.  Structure of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the western United States revealed by ambient noise and earthquake tomography , 2008 .

[26]  F. Pollitz.  Observations and interpretation of fundamental mode Rayleigh wavefields recorded by the Transportable Array (USArray) , 2008 .

[27]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crustal and uppermost mantle structure in southern Africa revealed from ambient noise and teleseismic tomography , 2008 .

[28]  F. Pollitz,et al.  Effect of 3-D viscoelastic structure on post-seismic relaxation from the 2004 M= 9.2 Sumatra earthquake , 2008 .

[29]  Morgan P. Moschetti,et al.  Surface wave tomography of the western United States from ambient seismic noise: Rayleigh and Love wave phase velocity maps , 2008 .

[30]  Charles A. Langston,et al.  Ambient seismic noise tomography and structure of eastern North America , 2008 .

[31]  Michael H. Ritzwoller,et al.  Characteristics of ambient seismic noise as a source for surface wave tomography , 2008 .

[32]  V. W. Chandler,et al.  Reinterpretation of Paleoproterozoic accretionary boundaries of the north-central United States based on a new aeromagnetic-geologic compilation , 2007 .

[33]  Steven J. Whitmeyer,et al.  Tectonic model for the Proterozoic growth of North America , 2007 .

[34]  K. Harpp,et al.  The magmatic evolution of the Midcontinent rift: New geochronologic and geochemical evidence from felsic magmatism , 2007 .

[35]  Yingjie Yang,et al.  Processing seismic ambient noise data to obtain reliable broad-band surface wave dispersion measurements , 2007 .

[36]  C. Lesher,et al.  Effects of melt depletion on the density and seismic velocity of garnet and spinel lherzolite , 2006 .

[37]  T. Brocher.  Empirical relations between elastic wavespeeds and density in the Earth's crust , 2005 .

[38]  C. Ebinger,et al.  Upper-mantle seismic structure in a region of incipient continental breakup: northern Ethiopian rift , 2005 .

[39]  Michel Campillo,et al.  High-Resolution Surface-Wave Tomography from Ambient Seismic Noise , 2005, Science.

[40]  S. Semken,et al.  Lithospheric structure of the Rio Grande rift , 2005, Nature.

[41]  S. Grand,et al.  A simple approach to the joint inversion of seismic body and surface waves applied to the southwest U.S. , 2004 .

[42]  P. A. Ziegler,et al.  Dynamic processes controlling evolution of rifted basins , 2004 .

[43]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Monte-Carlo inversion for a global shear-velocity model of the crust and upper mantle , 2002 .

[44]  A. Nyblade,et al.  Precambrian lithospheric controls on the development of the East African rift system , 2002 .

[45]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crustal and upper mantle structure beneath Antarctica and surrounding oceans , 2001 .

[46]  M. Frechen,et al.  Geology of El Misti volcano near the city of Arequipa, Peru , 2001 .

[47]  C. Bassin,et al.  The Current Limits of resolution for surface wave tomography in North America , 2000 .

[48]  Charles J. Ammon,et al.  Iterative deconvolution and receiver-function estimation , 1999 .

[49]  V. Farra,et al.  Velocity shift in heterogeneous media with anisotropic spatial correlation , 1998 .

[50]  R. Phinney,et al.  Seismic structure of the lithosphere from teleseismic converted arrivals observed at small arrays in the southern Sierra Nevada and vicinity, California , 1998 .

[51]  E. Humphreys,et al.  Upper mantle P wave velocity structure of the eastern Snake River Plain and its relationship to geodynamic models of the region , 1997 .

[52]  O. Oncken,et al.  Magmatic Underplating, Extension, and Crustal Reequilibration: Insights From A Cross‐Section Through the Ivrea Zone and Strona‐Ceneri Zone, Northern Italy , 1997, The Journal of Geology.

[53]  S. Nicholson,et al.  Rift-wide correlation of 1.1 Ga Midcontinent rift system basalts: implications for multiple mantle sources during rift development , 1997 .

[54]  D. Allen,et al.  The Midcontinent Rift System: A major Proterozoic continental rift , 1997 .

[55]  Walter D. Mooney,et al.  Seismic velocity structure and composition of the continental crust: A global view , 1995 .

[56]  G. R. Keller,et al.  Modeling the 2-D seismic velocity structure across the Kenya rift , 1994 .

[57]  P. Maguire,et al.  A crustal and uppermost mantle cross-sectional model of the Kenya Rift derived from seismic and gravity data , 1994 .

[58]  S. Smithson,et al.  Seismic profiling of Archean crust: Crustal structure in the Morton block, Minnesota River Valley subprovince , 1994 .

[59]  W. Hinze,et al.  Structural interpretation of the Midcontinent Rift in eastern Lake Superior from seismic reflection and potential-field studies , 1994 .

[60]  W. F. Cannon.  Closing of the Midcontinent rift-A far—field effect of Grenvillian compression , 1994 .

[61]  S. Karato,et al.  Importance of anelasticity in the interpretation of seismic tomography , 1993 .

[62]  A. Green,et al.  Geophysical investigations and crustal structure of the North American Midcontinent Rift system , 1992 .

[63]  W. F. Cannon,et al.  Speculations on the origin of the North American Midcontinent rift , 1992 .

[64]  W. R. Schmus.  Tectonic setting of the Midcontinent Rift system , 1992 .

[65]  W. Hinze,et al.  Model of the midcontinent rift system in northeastern Kansas , 1991 .

[66]  J. Paces,et al.  Non-depleted sub-continental mantle beneath the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield - Nd-Sr isotopic and trace element evidence from Midcontinent Rift basalts , 1989 .

[67]  M. Lee,et al.  The North American Midcontinent Rift beneath Lake Superior from Glimpce seismic reflection profiling , 1989 .

[68]  V. W. Chandler,et al.  Interpretation of Seismic Reflection, Gravity, and Magnetic Data Across Middle Proterozoic Mid-Continent Rift System, Northwestern Wisconsin, Eastern Minnesota, and Central Iowa , 1989 .

[69]  T. Bornhorst,et al.  Age of native copper mineralization, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan , 1988 .

[70]  K. Furlong,et al.  Continental crustal underplating: Thermal considerations and seismic‐petrologic consequences , 1986 .

[71]  P. Sims,et al.  Early Proterozoic Central Plains orogen: A major buried structure in the north-central United States , 1986 .

[72]  B. Wernicke,et al.  Uniform-sense normal simple shear of the continental lithosphere , 1985 .

[73]  W. Hinze,et al.  Regional North American gravity and magnetic anomaly correlations , 1982 .

[74]  D. L. Anderson,et al.  Preliminary reference earth model , 1981 .

[75]  D. McKenzie,et al.  Some remarks on the development of sedimentary basins , 1978 .

[76]  D. L. Anderson,et al.  Importance of Physical Dispersion in Surface Wave and Free Oscillation Problems: Review (Paper 6R0680) , 1977 .

[77]  P. Sims,et al.  Boundary between two Precambrian W terranes in Minnesota and its geologic significance , 1976 .

[78]  G. Woollard.  The Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Map of the United States , 1965 .

[79]  H. E. Wright.  Role of the Wadena Lobe in the Wisconsin Glaciation of Minnesota , 1962 .

[80]  G. Woollard.  Crustal structure from gravity and seismic measurements , 1959 .