SESolid EarthSESolid Earth1869-9529Copernicus PublicationsGöttingen, Germany10.5194/se-8-1141-2017Mantle roots of the Emeishan plume: an evaluation based on teleseismic P-wave tomographyHeChuansonghechuansong@aliyun.comhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8826-4013SantoshM.Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100081, ChinaCentre for Tectonics, Resources and Exploration, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, AustraliaSchool of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences Beijing, 29 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, ChinaChuansong He (hechuansong@aliyun.com)3November201786114111518February201722March20174August201730August2017This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This article is available from https://se.copernicus.org/articles/8/1141/2017/se-8-1141-2017.htmlThe full text article is available as a PDF file from https://se.copernicus.org/articles/8/1141/2017/se-8-1141-2017.pdf
The voluminous magmatism associated with large igneous provinces (LIPs) is commonly
correlated to upwelling plumes from the core–mantle boundary (CMB). Here we
analyse seismic tomographic data from the Emeishan LIP in southwestern China.
Our results reveal vestiges of delaminated crustal and/or lithospheric
mantle, with an upwelling in the upper mantle beneath the Emeishan LIP rather
than a plume rooted in the CMB. We suggest that the magmatism and the
Emeishan LIP formation might be connected with the melting of delaminated
lower crustal and/or lithospheric components which resulted in plume-like
upwelling from the upper mantle or from the mantle transition zone.
Introduction
The large-scale and transient magmatic events on the globe at different
times during Earth history are closely linked to mantle dynamics (Coffin and
Eldholm, 2001; Ernst and Buchan, 2001). The punctuated but intense magmatic
activities over the globe have generated several large igneous provinces (LIPs) in different regions
(Uenzelmann-Neben, 2013; Pirajno and Hoatson, 2012). Mantle plumes which are
upwellings of hot material from deeper parts of the Earth (Arndt, 2000) have
been invoked to explain the link between LIPs and modern volcanoes. LIPs are
characterized by large lava outpourings, such as those found in Siberia,
India, and Emeishan, which also have important implications for surface
environmental changes including mass extinctions (Buiter, 2014; Wignall,
2011).
Mantle upwelling received attention when Wilson (1963) suggested that the
Hawaiian Islands were produced when oceanic lithosphere moved over a
stationary “hot spot” in the mantle, following which the role of plumes and
their relation to mantle convection was further realized (Morgan, 1971). It
is now widely recognized that upwelling mantle plumes generate many LIPs
(White, 2010; Safonova and Santosh, 2014). When upwelling mantle plume
impinges on continental or oceanic lithosphere, large-scale eruption and
intrusion of mafic and ultramafic melts occur generating LIPs (Pirajno, 2007;
Shellnutt and Iizuka, 2012).
The Emeishan basalts (LIP) (ca. 257–262 Ma) in southwest China are exposed
over an area of 0.25–0.3 million km2 in the Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou
provinces, comprising a total volume of about 0.25 million km3 (Huang
and Opdyke, 1998), with the thickness of the basaltic flow ranging from 100 to 200 m in the eastern part to more than 5 km in the
west (Ali et al., 2010; Deng et al., 2010). The region has been divided into
three zones (inner, intermediate, and outer) (Fig. 1) based on
biostratigraphic, sedimentological, and geochemical characteristics (Xu et
al., 2001; Deng et al., 2010).
Tectonic framework, distribution of seismic stations (black
triangle) and the east–west and north–south profiles in the Emeishan LIP
area. 1: Nujiang Fault; 2: Shaoxing–Jiangshan–Pingxiang Fault; 3:
Langcangjiang Fault; 4: Nanding He Fault; 5: Weixi–Qiaohou Fault; 6: Red River
fault; 7: Yangjiang–Xiaojinhe Fault; 8: Xianshui He Fault; 9: Longmen Shan
Fault; 10: Anning-He–Zhemuhe Fault; 11: Xiaojiang Fault; 12: Jiujiang–Shitai
buried fault.
Previous studies suggested that the Emeishan flood basalts were generated by
mantle plume impingement at the base of the lithosphere, which resulted in
large-scale regional updoming prior to volcanism (Shellnutt et al., 2012;
X. H. Li et al., 2002) and led to a short eruption of less than
1 Myr (Song et al. 2004).
However, some researchers (e.g. Ukstins Peate and Bryan, 2008) have also
challenged the concept of upwelling mantle plume leading to LIP formation in
the Emeishan area. It has also been argued that submarine volcanism took
place during the emplacement of the Emeishan LIP and that some lava flows
close to the centre of the LIP were erupted in a submarine setting (Ukstins
Peate and Bryan, 2008; Ali et al., 2010). This model considers that the
products of initial eruption were extruded at around sea level and that the
moderately positive topography is a reflection of the rapid accumulation of
the volcanic pile (Ukstins Peate and Bryan, 2008). Thus, the Emeishan LIP
formation still remains a controversial topic, and the key issue is whether
there is a plume upwelling rooted in the core–mantle boundary (CMB).
In the past 2 decades, several seismic tomographic studies have been
carried out on the Emeishan LIP and surrounding regions, including
2.5-D tomography of the uppermost mantle
(Lü et al., 2014), ambient noise Love and Rayleigh wave tomography (Li et
al., 2010, 2009), teleseismic P-wave tomography (Bai et al., 2011; Yang et
al., 2014; Huang et al., 2015), local earthquake tomography (Huang et al.,
2009; Xu et al., 2012), interstation Pg and Sg differential travel-time
tomography (Li et al., 2014), and Pn anisotropic tomography (Lei et al.,
2014). These works have revealed the velocity structure of the crust and
upper mantle beneath this region, although they did not directly address the
mechanism of the Emeishan LIP formation.
Huang et al. (2015) carried out a tomographic study using 411 temporary
stations within 20–33∘ N and 95–110∘ E and obtained
the velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle in the Chuandian area. Here, we
carry out an extended study in the region northward and eastward within
20–35∘ N and 97–111∘ E so as to cover all the regions of
the Emeishan LIP. Our target is to construct the velocity
structure beneath the Emeishan area, based on which we evaluate the geodynamics of Emeishan LIP
formation.
Data and method
The basic principle for teleseismic tomography assumes that the relative
travel-time residuals resulted from the heterogeneity in the model space
(e.g. Yang et al., 2014; Zhao et al., 1992). The location of the seismic ray
crossing through the boundary of the study region was determined by a 1-D (or
1-D IASP91) velocity model, and theoretical travel time and seismic ray paths
are obtained by the fast ray tracing technique (or pseudo-bending technique)
(Zhao et al., 1992). Three-dimensional grids
are employed to express the velocity perturbation values, and any point in
the model space can be calculated from the values of the surrounding eight
nodes by pseudo-linear interpolation (Zhao et al., 1992, 1994).
We collected data recorded by the China seismic network from July 2007 to March
2014, which comprises 228 seismic stations in the study region (Fig. 1). The
371 teleseismic events were selected with epicentral distance ranging from
30∘ to 85∘ and corresponding to earthquake magnitude > 6.0
(Fig. 2). P arrivals were correlated on the vertical component after
bandpass filtering between 0.3 and 3 Hz. Our assembled data set contains
42 500 P-wave arrivals. We limited the relative travel-time residuals used in our tomographic inversion to between >-2 s and <+2 s (Fig. 3). To analyse this data
set, we used the tomographic method of Zhao et al. (1994). The
three-dimensional grid nodes were set up, with a lateral grid spacing of
1∘× 1∘ and a vertical grid spacing of 50, 100, 200,
300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 km.
Seismic events used in this tomographic study. The 371 events with
epicentre distance range from 30 to 85∘ for each station–event pair.
Distribution of relative travel-time residuals. We limited it to between >-2 s and
<2 s for the tomographic inversion.
In teleseismic tomography, rays do not crisscross well in the crust and the
uppermost mantle beneath the study region. Therefore, the effect of crustal
heterogeneity needs to be removed through correcting the relative travel-time
residuals, which is called crustal correction (Jiang et al., 2009, 2015). In
this work, the CRUST1.0 model (Laske et al., 2012) is used to make the
crustal correction to the relative travel-time residuals following the scheme
of Jiang et al. (2015). Here, we calculate the crustal correction for
the upper 50 km of the Earth.
The velocity perturbations from the 1-D IASP91 Earth model (Kennett and
Engdahl, 1991) at each grid node were taken as an unknown parameter. The LSQR
algorithm (Paige and Saunders, 1982) was used to solve the large and sparse
system of observation equations with damping and smoothing regularizations
(Zhao, 2004). The optimal value of the damping is based on the trade-off
curve between the rms travel-time residuals and the norm of the model after
many tests, and, eventually, 15 was adopted as the damping parameter for
tomographic inversion (Fig. 4).
The damping parameter (15) taken for the final solution model (red circle) after a series of trial inversion. The rms
travel-time residual is about 0.41 s.
For evaluating the resolution of the 3-D velocity structure, we carried out
checkerboard resolution tests (CRTs) (Zhao et al., 1994; Rawlinson and
Spakman, 2016) and assigned positive and negative velocity perturbations of
±5 % to all the 3-D grid nodes. Synthetic travel times are calculated
for the checkerboard model with the same station–event pairs in the synthetic data. We then inverted the synthetic data with the same algorithm as that for
the observed data. Although the CRTs have a number of potential drawbacks
(Rawlinson and Spakman, 2016), the results basically reflect the resolution
of the tomography and are part of the technique for routine checking. The
results show that the resolution is generally high in most parts of the study
area (Fig. 5), except for the marginal region and 50 and 800 km depth
sections. We also carried out the checkerboard test along west–east and
north–south profiles (see Fig. 1 for profile location). The east–west
profiles show high resolution for all profiles, and the synthetic data can be
recovered in the main part, except for the western part of the section (Fig. 6). The
north–south profiles also show high resolution in most parts, except for the
marginal region (Fig. 7). The results of the checkerboard test demonstrated that our
data and calculation adequately meet with the required resolution for the
main area of this study.
Checkerboard resolution test at 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600,
700, and 800 km depth sections relative to the IASP91 1-D velocity model (Kennett and
Engdahl, 1991). The model was run using the same stations or events as the main
inversion, with the same damping parameter.
Checkerboard resolution test along the west–east profiles (a,
b, c, and d are at latitudes 24, 26, 28, and
30∘ N, respectively) (see Fig. 1 for profile location).
Checkerboard resolution test along the north–south profiles
(e, f, g, and h are sections along
longitudes 102, 104, 106, and 108∘ E, respectively) (see Fig. 1 for
profile location).
P-wave velocity perturbation at 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600,
700, and 800 km depth sections relative to the IASP91 1D velocity model (Kennett
and Engdahl, 1991). Portions of the model where the recovery of the starting
model in the CRT was below 20 % are not shown (see Fig. 5).
Results
The results from this study show large-scale high-velocity perturbation (Hv1)
in the 50, 100, 200, and 300 km depth sections in the northeastern part of the
study area or Yangtze Block, which reflects the lithospheric root of the
Sichuan Basin (Fig. 8). They are consistent with previous teleseismic P-wave
tomographic studies (Yang et al., 2014; Huang et al., 2015; Li et al., 2006).
A large-scale high-velocity perturbation (Hv2) appears in the 300 and 400 km
depth sections in the central part (Fig. 8). Huang et al. (2015) also defined
a large-scale high-velocity perturbation at 350 and 400 km depth. High-velocity perturbations (Hv3) are revealed in the 500, 600, and 700 km depth
sections (most in the mantle transition zone) (Fig. 8). In the southern part of the study area,
a large-scale low-velocity perturbation (Lv1) is seen in the 50, 100, 200, and
300 km depth sections (Fig. 8). Huang et al. (2015) and Yang et al. (2014)
also defined a low-velocity perturbation at 100–200 km depth. In the 300,
400, and 500 km depth sections, there is a low-velocity perturbation (Lv2) in the
central part of the Emeishan LIP (Fig. 8). In the 400, 500, and 600 km depth
sections, there is an obvious low-velocity perturbation (Lv3) in the
southeastern part of the region (Fig. 8).
P-wave velocity perturbation profiles along the west–east direction
(a, b, c, and d are at latitudes 24, 26,
28, and 30∘ N, respectively) (see Fig. 1 for profile location).
Portions of the model where the recovery of the starting model in the CRT was
below 20 % are not shown (see Fig. 6).
P-wave perturbation profiles along the north–south direction
(e, f, g, and h are sections along
longitudes 102, 104, 106, and 108∘ E, respectively) (see Fig. 1 for
profile location). Portions of the model where the recovery of the starting
model in the CRT was below 20 % are not shown (see Fig. 7).
In the east-west direction profile, the high-velocity perturbation (Hv1) or the lithospheric root of the Sichuan Basin can be clearly seen in Fig. 9a and b.
The large-scale high-velocity perturbation (Hv2) occurs in the upper mantle
around 26–28∘ (Fig. 9b, c). A high-velocity
perturbation (Hv3) is seen in the MTZ (mantle transition zone; Fig. 9). In Fig. 9d, a large-scale low-velocity perturbation
(Lv1) appears in the upper mantle (along the 24∘ N). Yang et
al. (2014) and Huang et al. (2015) also defined a low-velocity perturbation
along 25∘ N. In the 28 and 30∘ profiles, the Lv2 and Lv3 can
be seen in the upper mantle and mantle transition zone, respectively. In the
north–south profile, the results also show Lv1 (Fig. 10e, f, and g), Lv2
(Fig. 10f, g), Lv3 (Fig. 10g, h), Hv1 (Fig. 10f, g, and h), and Hv2
(Fig. 10).
DiscussionLocation of the Emeishan LIP formation
The south China Block docked with the Indochina Block in the southwest in the
Early Triassic along the Ailao-Shan–Red-River-fault Song Ma suture, in the
west along the Longmen Shan Fault, and in the north with the North China
Craton along the Qin-Ling–Tongbai–Hong'an–Dabie–Sulu orogenic belt (Z. Li
et al., 2002; Zheng et al., 2013). The Emeishan LIP is considered to have
formed in the Permian–Triassic (Song et al., 2013; Chung and Jahn, 1995).
The LIP was broken up by the Red River fault (Xiao et al., 2004) and the
Longmen Shan Fault (He et al., 2007). However, the ∼ 260 Ma Emeishan
LIP in SW China and northern Vietnam includes voluminous continental flood
basalts that are believed to have formed from the same upwelling mantle
(Chung and Jahn, 1995; Xu et al., 2004). The region was located at the
western side of the Red River fault in the Early Triassic and was displaced
several hundred kilometres to the southeast by Oligo-Miocene sinistral motion
along the Ailao-Shan–Red-River fault (Ali et al., 2005). These features
suggest that the Emeishan LIP was generated after the amalgamation of the
south China and Indochina blocks in the Early Triassic along the
Ailao-Shan–Red-River fault-Song Ma suture. Since the Early Triassic, there is no documented evidence to show that the
location of the Emeishan LIP has changed.
On the other hand, a receiver function study revealed a felsic lower crust in
the Emeishan area, suggesting crustal delamination (He et al., 2014).
Simultaneously, the MTZ beneath this region shows a cold domain (He et al.,
2014), which might suggest that the delaminated cold material dropped down
into the MTZ. Generally, crustal delamination can induce mantle upwelling (Elkins-Tanton
and Hager, 2000; Elkins-Tanton, 2005), which might have eventually resulted
in a convective circulation system between the lower crust and the MTZ
beneath the Emeishan area (He et al., 2014). This further confirms the
present location of the Emeishan LIP.
Mechanism of the Emeishan LIP formation
The rise and impingement of mantle plumes on continental and oceanic
lithospheric plates would lead to the formation of mafic/ultramafic lower
crust (Pirajno, 2007). Some of the previous studies indicated a high-velocity lower crust beneath the Emeishan LIP (Xu et al., 2007), suggesting a mafic/ultramafic lower crust generated by lower crustal underplating or the
upwelling mantle plume during the later Permian (Xu et al., 2004; Usuki et al.,
2015). However, the dominantly felsic to intermediate lower crust in this
area identified from receiver function analyses (He et al., 2014; Sun et
al., 2012) does not favour any underplating in the Emeishan LIP area.
Alternate models consider that the LIP magmatism was triggered by
decompression-induced melting of the upper mantle beneath zones of lithospheric
extension or fractures (Uenzelmann-Neben, 2013), which does not require any
upwelling mantle plume. Preeruptive subsidence and asthenospheric flow into
voids created by the delamination of dense eclogitic lower crust and/or
lithosphere have been proposed by some researchers (Anderson, 2007; Hales et
al., 2005), such as in the case of the Siberian Trap basalts (Elkins-Tanton
and Hager, 2000).
It has been shown that in some cases, high- and low-velocity relics generated
by subducted slab or crustal and mantle lithospheric delamination resulting
in the upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle can be retained for a long
time, even a couple of billion years (Cook et al., 1999; Balling, 2000;
Svenningsen et al., 2007; Zhai et al., 2007; He et al., 2015). These low- and
high-velocity structures can be imaged by tomography (Zhao et al., 1992,
1994; Zhao et al., 2016).
The crustal and/or mantle lithospheric delamination can generate mantle
upwelling and extensive volcanism (Vlaar et al., 1994; van Thienen et al.,
2004). A large-scale lower crustal and/or mantle lithospheric delamination or
sinking (Hv3) (Fig. 9) may stop at the 660 km discontinuity identified by
this study, where crustal and lithospheric components would be melted
(Lustrino, 2005) because the MTZ is a potential water reservoir in the
Earth's interior (Karato, 2011; Kuritani et al., 2011). The accumulation of
delaminated crust and/or mantle lithosphere in the MTZ are speculated to give rise to “second continents”
at the bottom of the upper mantle (Kawai et al., 2013; Lustrino, 2005). The
hydrous minerals in the MTZ as “water tanks” might trigger dehydration
melting of vertically flowing mantle (Schmandt et al., 2014). Because of
their buoyancy, crustal and/or mantle lithospheric melts rise up as
plume-like upwelling instead of being dragged down to the convecting lower
mantle (Lustrino, 2005). Thus, lower crustal and/or mantle lithospheric
delamination and mantle inflow are considered to set the ideal scene for
plume-like upwelling from the MTZ (He et al., 2014). Meanwhile, removal of
the lower crust and/or mantle lithosphere (Hv2) (Fig. 10) allows the mantle to rise to shallower depths leading to decompression melting reflected as low-velocity
perturbations (Elkins-Tanton and Hager, 2000; Elkins-Tanton, 2005).
Therefore, we suggest that the Lv1, Lv2, and Lv3 identified in our study
(Figs. 8, 9, and 10) may represent upwelling from the upper mantle or mantle
transition zone generated by the delamination of the low crust and/or mantle lithosphere rather than plumes rooted in the core–mantle boundary. These upwellings might be linked
to the formation of the Emeishan LIP.
Conclusions
The tectonic framework of Emeishan LIP is characterized by the Longmen Shan
thrust fault in the northwest and the Ailao-Shan–Red-River strike-slip fault
in the southwest. It is possible that the assembly of the Yangtze Block with
another crustal block in the late Permian and Early Triassic, which is the
major tectonic event in the Emeishan area, resulted in crustal thickening
and large-scale delamination of the lower crust and/or mantle lithosphere.
The delamination may have triggered mantle upwelling and the generation of
crustal melts resulting in the Emeishan LIP formation.
Our results show that there is no low-velocity perturbation rooted in the
lower mantle beneath the Emeishan LIP, suggesting the absence of any
vestiges of a mantle plume rising from the CMB beneath the Emeishan area.
The data are not publicly accessible due to national
policy. Waveform data for this study are provided by the Data Management Centre of China National
Seismic Network (2007) at the Institute of Geophysics (SEISDMC,
10.11998/SeisDmc/SN), the China Earthquake Networks Center, and the CQ,
GX, GZ, QH, SC, XZ, YN Seismic Networks, China Earthquake Administration
(Zheng et al., 2010).
The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
Acknowledgements
This study is supported by National Key R&D Program of China
(2017YFC0601406). Waveform data for this study are
provided by the Data Management Centre of China National Seismic
Network (2007) at the Institute of Geophysics (SEISDMC,
10.11998/SeisDmc/SN), the China Earthquake Networks Center, and the CQ,
GX, GZ, QH, SC, XZ, YN Seismic Networks, China Earthquake Administration
(Zheng et al., 2010). This study also benefits from the Foreign Expert funding from China University of
Geosciences Beijing and professorial support from the University of Adelaide
to M. Santosh. Edited by: Tarje
Nissen-Meyer Reviewed by: Guust Nolet and one anonymous
referee
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