An upper-mantle S-wave velocity model for East Asia from Rayleigh wave tomography

We present a new shear velocity model of the upper mantle beneath the East Asia region derived by inverting Rayleigh wave group velocity measurements between 10 and 145 s combined with previously published Rayleigh wave phase velocity measurements between 150 and 250 s. Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion curves along more than 9500 paths were measured and combined to produce 2D dispersion maps for 10–145 s periods. The group velocity maps benefit from the inclusion of new data recorded by the China National Seismic Network and surrounding global stations. The increase in available data has resulted in enhanced resolution compared with previously published group velocity maps; the horizontal resolution across the region is about 3° for the periods used in this study. The new shear-wave velocity models indicate varying velocity structure beneath eastern China, which yields estimates of a lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary depth from around 160 km beneath the Yangtze block to approximately 140 km beneath the western part of the North China Craton (NCC), up to depths of 70–100 km beneath the eastern NCC, Northeast China, and the Cathaysia block. The models reveal the subduction of two opposite-facing continental plates under the southern and northern margin of Tibet. An obvious low-velocity anomaly appears in the top 200 km of the upper mantle beneath northern Tibet, which is inconsistent with the presence of subducted Asian or Indian mantle lithosphere beneath northern Tibet. The Cenozoic volcanism fields in the Mongolian plateau are characterized by an obvious upper mantle negative anomaly, but no signature of deep-seated plume was observed.