Abstract
We present detailed 3-D images of whole mantle P-wave velocity structure
beneath Southeast Asia and surrounding regions. The results are obtained
by applying an updated global tomographic method to invert
~8 million P, pP, PP, PcP, and Pdiff arrival times from
23,587 earthquakes recorded at 14,136 stations distributed all over the
world. Our tomographic model reveals a continuous, thin low-velocity
(low-V) zone from the surface to the core-mantle boundary beneath the
Hainan hotspot, which may reflect the Hainan plume that exists in the
whole mantle. Beneath the Australian slab that has subducted into the
lower mantle, a strong low-V anomaly is detected, which may reflect
subslab hot mantle upwelling (SHMU) due to return flow of the slab
subduction. Our model also shows the distinct shape of subducted slabs
in the upper mantle and slab remnants in the lower mantle. In
particular, a hole in the subducting Australian slab is revealed at
depths of 280–430 km beneath eastern Java. The low-V anomaly in the
mantle wedge above the Australian slab is connected with the SHMU
through the slab hole, suggesting that mixture of the island arc magma
and the SHMU may have caused huge eruptions of the Tambora and Rinjani
volcanoes in eastern Java.