Upper-mantle shear-wave structure under East and Southeast Asia from Automated Multimode Inversion of waveforms

We present a new Sv-velocity model of the upper mantle under East and Southeast Asia constrained by the inversion of seismic waveforms recorded by broad-band stations. Seismograms from earthquakes occurred between 1977 and 2012 are collected from about 4786 permanent and temporary stations in the region whenever and wherever available. Automated Multimode Inversion of surface and multiple-S waveforms is applied to extract structural information from the seismograms, in the form of linear equations with uncorrelated uncertainties. The equations are then solved for the seismic velocity perturbations in the crust and upper mantle with respect to a three-dimensional (3-D) reference model and a realistic crust. Major features of the lithosphere–asthenosphere system in East and Southeast Asia are identified in the resulting model. At lithospheric depth, low velocities can be seen beneath Tibet, whereas high velocities are found beneath cratonic regions, such as the Siberian, North China, Yangtze,) Tarim, and Dharwarand cratons. A number of microplates are mapped and the interaction with neighbouring plates is discussed. Slabs from the Pacific and Indian Oceans can be seen in the upper mantle. Passive marginal basins and subduction zones are also properly resolved.