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Title: Depth‐Dependent Azimuthal Anisotropy Beneath the Juan de Fuca Plate System
Abstract

We use surface wave measurements to reveal anisotropy as a function of depth within the Juan de Fuca and Gorda plate system. Using a two‐plane wave method, we measure phase velocity and azimuthal anisotropy of fundamental mode Rayleigh waves, solving for anisotropic shear velocity. These surface wave measurements are jointly inverted with constraints fromSKSsplitting studies using a Markov chain approach. We show that the two data sets are consistent and present inversions that offer new constraints on the vertical distribution of strain beneath the plates and the processes at spreading centers. Anisotropy of the Juan de Fuca plate interior is strongest (~2.4%) in the low‐velocity zone between ~40‐ to 90‐km depth, with ENE direction driven by relative shear between plate motion and mantle return flow from the Cascadia subduction zone. In disagreement withPnmeasurements, weak (~1.1%) lithospheric anisotropy in Juan de Fuca is highly oblique to the expected ridge‐perpendicular direction, perhaps connoting complex intralithospheric fabrics associated with melt or off‐axis downwelling. In the Gorda microplate, strong shallow anisotropy (~1.9%) is consistent withPninversions and aligned with spreading and may be enhanced by edge‐driven internal strain. Weak anisotropy with ambiguous orientation in the low‐velocity zone can be explained by Gorda's youth and modest motion relative to the Pacific. Deeper (≥90 km) fabric appears controlled by regional flow fields modulated by the Farallon slab edge: anisotropy is strong (~1.8%) beneath Gorda, but absent beneath the Juan de Fuca, which is in the strain shadow of the slab.

 
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Award ID(s):
1658214
PAR ID:
10363953
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  
Publisher / Repository:
DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Volume:
125
Issue:
8
ISSN:
2169-9313
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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