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SUMMARY We present a new, S‐velocity model of the European upper mantle, constrained by inversions of seismic waveforms from broad‐band stations in Europe and surrounding regions. We collected seismograms for the years 1990–2007 from all permanent stations in Europe for which data were available. In addition, we incorporated data from temporary experiments. Automated multimode inversion of surface and S‐wave forms was applied to extract structural information from the seismograms, in the form of linear equations with uncorrelated uncertainties. The equations were then solved for seismic velocity perturbations in the crust and mantle with respect to a 3‐D reference model with a realistic crust. We present two versions of the model: one for the entire European upper mantle and another, with the highest resolution, focused on the upper 200 km of the mantle beneath western and central Europe and the circum Mediterranean. The mantle lithosphere and asthenosphere are well resolved by both models. Major features of the lithosphere–asthenosphere system in Europe and the Mediterranean are indentified. The highest velocities in the mantle lithosphere of the East European Craton (EEC) are found at about 150 km depth. There are no indications for a deep cratonic root below about 330 km depth. Lateral variations within the cratonic mantle lithosphere are resolved as well. The locations of kimberlites correlate with reduced S‐wave velocities in the shallow cratonic mantle lithosphere. This anomaly is present in regions of both Proterozoic and Archean crust, pointing to an alteration of the mantle lithosphere after the formation of the craton. Strong lateral changes in S‐wave velocity are found at the northwestern margin of the EEC and may indicate erosion of cratonic mantle lithosphere beneath the Scandes by hot asthenosphere. The mantle lithosphere beneath western Europe and between the Tornquist–Teisseyre Zone and the Elbe Line shows moderately high velocities and is of an intermediate character, between cratonic lithosphere and the thin lithosphere of central Europe. In central Europe, Caledonian and Variscian sutures are not associated with strong lateral changes in the lithosphere–asthenosphere system. Cenozoic anorogenic intraplate volcanism in central Europe and the circum Mediterranean is found in regions of shallow asthenosphere and close to changes in the depth of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. Very low velocities at shallow upper‐mantle depths are present from eastern Turkey towards the Dead Sea transform fault system and Sinai, beneath locations of recent volcanism. Low‐velocity anomalies extending vertically from shallow upper mantle down to the transition zone are found beneath the Massif Central, Sinai and the Dead Sea, the Canary Islands and Iceland.

Seismic structure related to the magmatic system beneath the potentially hazardous Changbaishan volcano recently becomes hotly debated. In addition, mantle flow dynamics throughout the back‐arc regions in NE Asia remain poorly constrained due to the lack of seismic data in the Korean Peninsula and surrounding ocean regions. In this study we construct a high‐resolution azimuthally anisotropic Rayleigh‐wave phase velocity model in NE Asia, by integrating seismic data from China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. The resulting isotropic velocity maps suggest possible existence of a crustal magma chamber beneath the Changbaishan volcano and that the widespread intraplate volcanism in NE Asia likely arises from the upwelling asthenosphere. The obtained anisotropic maps reveal trench‐normal return flow patterns in the back‐arc regions of NE Asia with local variations between East China and northeast China as controlled by the subduction geometry of the Pacific slab.