The splitting 660 km discontinuity associated with lithospheric
delamination in the northern part of the North-South seismic zone, China
Abstract
The north-south seismic zone (NSSZ) is a destructive zone of large-scale
earthquakes in China, and the earthquake mechanism associated with deep
structures remains unclear. Previous studies have indicated that
lithospheric delamination or absence of lithospheres in the western part
of the NSSZ may facilitate the eastern extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau
and lead to stress accumulation and release. However, the deep process
of lithospheric delamination needs to be further clarified. In this
study, I collect abundant high-quality teleseismic data recorded by
permanent seismic stations and perform common conversion point (CCP)
stacking of receiver functions in the north part of the NSSZ. The
results show that lithospheric delamination might result in the
splitting 660 km discontinuity and a thickening region of the mantle
transition zone (MTZ).