Journal
GONDWANA RESEARCH
Volume 44, Issue -, Pages 89-95Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.gr.2016.11.012
Keywords
Deep Alpine structure; Mantle earthquakes; Focal mechanism heterogeneity; Aseismic creep; Lithosphere rheology
Categories
Funding
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, China
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41350001]
- LabEx OSUG (Investissements d'avenir, France) [ANR10 LABX56]
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The assessment of seismic activity in the shallow continental mantle has long been hindered by the low resolution of both seismic imaging and earthquake locations in young collision zones. Here, we combine the most recent and high-resolution image of the lithospheric structure of the Western Alps with a high quality dataset of anomalously deep earthquakes recorded in the same area in the past 25 yrs. We show that these earthquakes are aligned on an active lithospheric strike-slip fault, and we provide evidence that this fault is located in the mantle wedge beneath the Adriatic Moho. Our results: (i) provide direct evidence that deep material can be seismogenic or not depending on the lithology; (ii) confirm the role of serpentinization in favoring the aseismic creep of mantle rocks; and (iii) demonstrate that the upper mantle can be stiff and seismogenic not only in cold cratons, but also in young orogenic belts. (C) 2016 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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