A magnetotelluric study of lithospheric thinning beneath the
Northeastern United States: Evidence for partial melting
Abstract
Analysis of magnetotelluric (MT) data in the northern Appalachian region
reveals various heterogeneities in lithospheric structure. By inverting
a subset of the long-period Earthscope USArray MT data, we obtained a 3D
electrical resistivity model that provides insights into the previously
identified seismic low-velocity Northern Appalachian Anomaly (NAA). We
compared the resistivity (inverse of conductivity) values with empirical
conductivity models based on an olivine-orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene
mantle mineral assemblage. Low-resistivity anomalies in the inverted
model suggest an anomalously hot mantle in the northern and western
edges of the NAA. Both in the north and west, resistivities in the
uppermost mantle are sufficiently low to require a small fraction of
partial melt. Additionally, we resolved a resistive feature in western
New England that extends deep into the mantle lithosphere and is absent
in seismic velocity models. We interpret this feature as dry and
depleted lithospheric mantle. The observed heterogeneities in the
lithosphere may reflect ongoing asthenospheric upwelling caused by
combined effects of weakened lithosphere from past hotspot interactions
and present edge-driven mantle convection.