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Segmentation and radial anisotropy of the deep crustal magmatic system beneath the Cascades arc
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  • Chengxin Jiang,
  • Brandon Schmandt,
  • Geoffrey A. Abers,
  • Eric Kiser,
  • Meghan Samantha Miller
Chengxin Jiang
Australian National University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Brandon Schmandt
University of New Mexico
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Geoffrey A. Abers
Cornell University
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Eric Kiser
University of Arizona
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Meghan Samantha Miller
Australian National University
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Abstract

Volcanic arcs consist of many distinct vents that are ultimately fueled by the common process of melting in the subduction zone mantle wedge. Seismic imaging of crustal scale magmatic systems can provide insight into how melt is organized in the deep crust and eventually focused beneath distinct vents as it ascends and evolves. Here we investigate the crustal-scale structure beneath a section of the Cascades arc spanning four major stratovolcanoes: Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier, based on ambient noise interferometry measurements from 234 seismographs. Simultaneous inversion of Rayleigh and Love wave dispersion better constrain the isotropic shear velocity (Vs) and identify the unusual occurrence of radially anisotropic structures. Isotropic Vs shows two sub-parallel low-Vs zones at ~15-30 km depth with one connecting Mt. Rainier to Mt. Adams, and another connecting Mt. St. Helens to Mt. Hood, which are interpreted as deep crustal magma reservoirs containing up to ~2.5-6% melt, assuming near-equilibrium melt geometry. Negative radial anisotropy is prevalent in this part of the Cascadia margin, but is interrupted by positive radial anisotropy extending vertically beneath Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier at ~10-30 km depth and weaker positive anisotropy beneath Mt. St. Helens with a west dipping. The positive anisotropy regions are adjacent to rather than co-located with the isotropic low-Vs anomalies. Ascending melt that stalled and mostly crystallized in sills with possible compositional difference from the country rock may explain the near-average Vs and positive radial anisotropy adjacent to the active deep crustal magma reservoirs.