Seismic anisotropy in tomographic studies of the upper mantle beneath Southern Europe

Abstract

Regional seismic tomography of Iberia, Italy, the South Balkans and the Aegean region down to about 400 km are discussed along with results of studies on the anisotropic structure of the lithosphere based on an analysis of spatial variations of P-residuals. The P-residual spheres, showing azimuth-incidence angle dependent terms of relative residuals, map lateral changes of the anisotropic structure of the subcrustal lithosphere related to large tectonic units. Isotropic velocity perturbation models correlate, in general, with models of the lithosphere thickness but in some provinces they are affected by neglecting the anisotropic propagation within the lithosphere.

Keywords

• subcrustal lithosphere
• upper mantle heterogeneities
• seismic anisotropy
• velocity perturbation
• residual spheres