Large-scale lithospheric stress field and topography induced by global mantle circulation

We present seismic images of the upper mantle below the Quaternary Eifel volcanic fields, Germany, determined by teleseismic travel time tomography. The data were measured at a dedicated network of more than 200 stations. Our results show a columnar low P-velocity anomaly in the upper mantle with a lateral contrast of up to 2%. The 100 km wide structure extends to at least 400 km depth and is equivalent to about 150¯200 K excess temperature. This clear evidence for a plume below a region of comparatively minor volcanism suggests that deep mantle plumes could be more numerous than commonly assumed. They may often be associated with small volcanic fields or may have no volcanic surface expression at all.