Excitations of seismic background noises are mostly related to fluid disturbances in the atmosphere, ocean and the solid Earth. Earthquakes have not been considered as a stationary excitation source because they occur intermittently. Here we report that acoustic-coupled Rayleigh waves (at 0.7-2.0 Hz) travelling in the ocean and marine sediments, retrieved by correlating ambient noise on a hydro...

Abstract A model of the thermal and hydrodynamic structure subduction zone is proposed. This includes free convection flows in asthenospheric layer C (mantle transition zone). Temperature profiles subducting lithospheric plate, as well continental limb zone, are presented. The heat flux due to friction at contact between plate significantly affects transfer and, consequently, temperature field ...

Transition zone slab deformation influences Earth’s thermal, chemical, and tectonic evolution. However, the mechanisms responsible for the wide range of imaged slab morphologies remain debated. Here we use 2-D thermo-mechanical models with a mobile trench, an overriding plate, a temperature and stress-dependent rheology, and a 10, 30, or 100-fold increase in lower mantle viscosity, to investiga...

S U M M A R Y The wavelet approach to numerical simulation of elastic wave propagation is applied to models with localized heterogeneity, with significant contrasts with their surroundings. We consider zones with both lowered wave speed such as a fault gouge zone and elevated wave speeds such as in a subduction zone. In each of these situations the source lies within the heterogeneity. The repr...

The internal structure of a convergent plate boundary was the focus of ODP Leg 170 in 1996 at the subduction zone off Costa Rica. Although the structure of the subduction zone is rather well known from seismic surveys, prior to drilling of ODP Leg 170 it was a matter of discussion whether it is accretionary or non-accretionary. With a neural network approach, we confirm the evidence gained duri...