Evaluating Drivers of Mantle Flow and Sources of Seismic Anisotropy in
the Alaskan Subduction Zone: Observations from Offshore/Onshore
Shear-Wave Splitting
Abstract
Subduction zones are essential for mantle convection through the
recycling of oceanic lithosphere, however, asthenospheric flow at
convergent margins is not uniform. Deformation of the asthenosphere can
be driven by subduction processes such as, viscous entrainment to plate
motions, slab rollback-induced toroidal flow, and mantle wedge dynamics.
These mechanisms are critical to understanding volcanism, margin
evolution, and lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling. The easternmost
Alaska subduction zone has been extensively studied showing evidence
from seismic anisotropy for large-scale toroidal flow around the slab
edge. Westward however, near the Shumagin Gap, few observations have
been made. Along-strike changes in oceanic plate fabric, steepening slab
dip, proximity to the slab edge, plate motion, and hydration of the
mantle may all influence anisotropy and mantle flow in this region.
Here, we evaluate models using independent offshore shear-wave splitting
measurements acquired using data from the Alaska Amphibious Community
Seismic Experiment (AACSE). We compare our splitting observations to
forward models that consider the distribution of anisotropy and the
backazimuthal dependence of observations. The models we test include
viscously entrained flow due to oceanic plate motion
(~310° CW North), anisotropic fabric variations,
anisotropy related to bending faults and mantle serpentinization, and
changes in frozen anisotropy in the oceanic lithosphere. Onshore
shear-wave splitting observations show fast-axis directions
~55° CW North, inconsistent with 2D mantle wedge flow,
assuming A-type olivine, but it is consistent with B-type fabric or
trench-parallel flow as suggested by previous studies. Offshore
splitting observations appear to vary along-strike. Here, two distinct
oceanic plate fabrics exist, one developed from a northeast-spreading
direction and the other from an east-spreading direction. Frozen
anisotropy in the oceanic lithosphere may play a significant role in the
splitting signal produced offshore and may be an important contributor
to the distribution of seismic anisotropy. By synthesizing onshore and
offshore observations here with our understanding of flow at the eastern
slab edge, we can build a more complete model of mantle dynamics for the
Alaskan subduction zone.