<p>The causes of the high topography in Scandinavia along the North Atlantic passive continental margins are enigmatic, and two end-member models have been proposed. One opinion is that the high topography has been maintained since the Caledonian orogeny, because isostatic rebound has compensated for most of the erosion over >400 My. The other opinion is that the topography is Cenozoic and that it is related to plate tectonic or deep thermal / geodynamic processes. Onshore uplift is related to simultaneous offshore subsidence, and the rapid topographic changes may be the combined result of a series of complementary processes.</p><p>Here, we provide new evidence for the upper mantle structure by calculating a tomographic model for Fennoscandia (Scandinavia and Finland) by teleseismic inversion of finite-frequency P- and S- wave travel-time residuals. We use seismic signals from earthquakes at epicentral distances between 30&#176; and 104&#176; and with magnitudes larger than 5.5, gathered on 200 broad-band seismic stations installed by the ScanArray project in Norway, Sweden and Finland, which operated during 2012-2017, together with data from earlier projects and stationary stations..</p><p>We measure relative travel-time residuals of direct body waves in high- and low-frequency bands, and carry out an appropriate frequency-dependent crustal correction. The average residuals vary over the region, and show clear trends depending on location and and back-azimuthal directions. This demonstrates the presence of significant heterogeneity of seismic velocities in the upper mantle across the region. Based on the travel-time residuals<strong>,</strong> we carry out finite-frequency body-wave tomographic inversion to determine the P and S wave seismic velocity structure of the upper-mantle. By use of &#8220;relative kernels&#8221; we reduce problems related to station coverage with asynchronous datasets, which allows the use of data from different deployments for the inversion. The resulting seismic model is compared to the existing and past topography in order to contribute to the understanding of mechanisms responsible for the topographic changes in the Fennoscandian region, which we relate to the general tectonic and geological evolution of the North Atlantic region. The models provide basis for deriving high-resolution models of temperature and compositional anomalies that may contribute to the understanding of the observed, enigmatic topography.</p>
The ScanArray international collaborative program acquired broadband seismological data at 192 locations in the Baltic Shield during the period between 2012 and 2017. The main objective of the program is to provide seismological constraints on the structure of the lithospheric crust and mantle as well as the sublithospheric upper mantle. The new information will be applied to studies of how the lithospheric and deep structure affect observed fast topographic change and geological-tectonic evolution of the region. The program also provides new information on local seismicity, focal mechanisms, and seismic noise. The recordings are generally of very high quality and are used for analysis by various seismological methods, including P- and S-wave receiver functions for the crust and upper mantle, surface wave and ambient noise inversion for seismic velocity, body-wave P- and S-wave tomography for upper mantle velocity structure using ray and finite frequency methods, and shear-wave splitting measurements for obtaining bulk anisotropy of the upper and lowermost mantle. Here, we provide a short overview of the data acquisition and initial analysis of the new data, together with an example of integrated seismological results obtained by the project group along a representative ∼1800-km-long profile across most of the tectonic provinces in the Baltic Shield between Denmark and the North Cape. The first models support a subdivision of the Paleoproterozoic Svecofennian province into three domains, where the highest topography of the Scandes mountain range in Norway along the Atlantic Coast has developed solely in the southern and northern domains, whereas the topography is more subdued in the central domain.
Summary We present a P-wave velocity model of the upper mantle, obtained from finite-frequency body wave tomography, to analyze the relationship between deep and surface structures in Fennoscandia, one of the most studied cratons on Earth. The large array aperture of 2000 km by 800 km allows us to image the velocity structure to 800 km depth at very high resolution. The velocity structure provides background for understanding the mechanisms responsible for the enigmatic and strongly debated high topography in the Scandinavian mountain range far from any plate boundary. Our model shows exceptionally strong velocity anomalies with changes by up to 6% on a 200 km scale. We propose that a strong negative velocity anomaly down to 200 km depth along all of Norway provides isostatic support to the enigmatic topography, as we observe a linear correlation between hypsometry and uppermost mantle velocity anomalies to 150 km depth in central Fennoscandia. The model reveals a low velocity anomaly below the mountains underlain by positive velocity anomalies, which we explain by preserved original Svecofennian and Archaean mantle below the Caledonian/Sveconorwegian deformed parts of Fennoscandia. Strong positive velocity anomalies to around 200 km depth around the southern Bothnian Bay and the Baltic Sea may be associated with pristine lithosphere of the present central and southern Fennoscandian craton that has been protected from modification since its formation. However, the Archaean domain in the north and the marginal parts of the Svecofennian domains appear to have experienced strong modification of the upper mantle. A pronounced north-dipping positive velocity anomaly in the southern Baltic Sea extends below Moho. It coincides in location and dip with a similar north-dipping structure in the crust and uppermost mantle to 80 km depth observed from high resolution, controlled source seismic data. We interpret this feature as the image of a Palaeoproterozoic boundary which has been preserved for 1.8 Gy in the lithosphere.
<p>The Baltic Shield is located in northern Europe. It was formed by amalgamation of a series of terranes and microcontinents during the Archean to the Paleoproterozoic, followed by significant modification in Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic time. The Baltic Shield includes a high mountain range, the Scandes, along its western North Atlantic coast, despite being a stable craton located far from any active plate boundary.</p> <p>The ScanArray international collaborative program has acquired broad band seismological data at 192 locations in the Baltic Shield during the period between 2012 and 2017. The main objective of the program is to provide seismological constraints on the structure of the lithospheric crust and mantle as well as the sublithospheric upper mantle. The new information will be applied to studies of how the lithospheric and deep structure affects observed fast topographic change and geological-tectonic evolution of the region. The recordings are of very high quality and are used for analysis by suite of methods, including P- and S-wave receiver functions for the crust and upper mantle, surface wave and ambient noise inversion for seismic velocity, body wave P- and S- wave tomography for upper mantle velocity structure, and shear-wave splitting measurements for obtaining bulk anisotropy of the upper and lower mantle. Here we provide a short overview of the data acquisition and initial analysis of the new data with focus on parameters that constrain the fast topographic change in the Scandes.</p> <p>&#160;</p>
<p><span>We present a seismic tomographic image of Fennoscandia based on data from the ScanArray project in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, which operated during 2012-2017, together with data from earlier projects and stationary stations. We use relative traveltime residuals of P- and S- waves in high- and low-frequency bands and apply the frequency-dependent crustal correction. We use seismic signals from earthquakes at epicentral distances between 30&#176; and 104&#176; and magnitudes larger than 5.5. The general purpose of this study is to understand the possible causes of the high topography in Scandinavia along the passive continental margins in the North Atlantic as well as the interrelation between structure at the surface and in the lithospheric mantle.</span></p><p><span>We present an upper-mantle velocity structure for most Fennoscandia derived for the depth range 50-800 km with a 3D multiscale parameterization for an inversion mesh-grid with dimensions </span><em><span>dx</span></em><span>=</span><em><span>dy</span></em><span>=17.38 km and </span><em><span>dz</span></em><span>=23.44 km. In all body-wave tomography methods, smearing of anomalies is expected. Therefore resolution tests are critical for assessing the resolution of the parameters determined in the velocity models. The resolution of the models depends on several factors, including the noise level and general quality of data, the density of observations, the distance and back-azimuthal distribution of sources, the damping applied, and the model parameterization. We use checkerboard and model-driven (block and cylindrical) tests for assessing the resolution of our models.</span></p><p><span>Seismic models derived in this study are compared to existing and past topography to contribute to understanding mechanisms responsible for the topographic changes in the Fennoscandian region. The models also provide a basis for deriving high-resolution models of temperature and compositional anomalies that may contribute to understanding the observed, enigmatic topography.</span></p>
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