Seismic Structure of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere System Beneath the Oldest Seafloor Revealed by Rayleigh-Wave Dispersion Analysis

We analyze seismic records collected at the oldest (170-180 Ma) Pacific seafloor using broadband dispersion array analysis. Using ambient noise and teleseismic waveforms, we measure Rayleighwave phase velocities in a period range of 5-200 s that are inverted for array-average one-dimensional isotropic and azimuthally anisotropic shear-wave velocity depth profiles from the crust to a depth of 300 km. The high-velocity Lid and the low-velocity zone are well-resolved with velocity difference of similar to 4%, whose transition occurs at depths between 80 and 100 km. The profile is compared with that obtained at the 130- and 140-Ma seafloor. Accounting for the cooling effect due to the plate age difference, the low-velocity zone of the oldest Pacific seafloor is similar to 1.3% slower (similar to 110 degrees C warmer) than that beneath the 140-Ma seafloor, suggesting the occurrence of some reheating process beneath the oldest lithosphere. The azimuthal anisotropy at shallow depths (<50 km) is significantly different between the western and eastern areas of the array where the peak-to-peak amplitudes are estimated to be similar to 2.8% and similar to 1.6%, respectively. The fast direction is nearly parallel to the past seafloor spreading direction (perpendicular to the magnetic lineation) in the west, while it largely deviates in the east. The observed difference in azimuthal anisotropy may represent complicated evolution dynamics of the infant Pacific plate that involved a ridge-ridge-ridge triple junction. Plain Language Summary One of the classical enigmas of plate tectonics is the cause of seafloor flattening where the seafloor depth becomes nearly constant for old ages (>similar to 70 Ma) while a simple cooling model of plate evolution predicts the age dependence. To solve this enigma, it is essential to resolve the subsurface structure of the oceanic plate and the asthenosphere below. As a part of an international effort, Pacific Array, that aims to cover the Pacific seafloor by arrays of ocean bottom seismometers, a team of Japanese and Korean scientists deployed an array in the oldest (170-180 Ma) Pacific seafloor. We determine isotropic and anisotropic shear-wave velocity structures as a first step toward resolving the enigma. The results indicate that the asthenosphere beneath the oldest Pacific lithosphere is significantly slower than the prediction of the simple cooling and that the occurrence of some reheating process may be needed. Furthermore, azimuthal anisotropy (the dependence of the wave velocity on the horizontal propagation direction) in the shallow lithosphere shows that the anisotropy patterns differ between the eastern and western areas of the array, and simulation results indicate that the evolution process of the infant Pacific plate is not merely a simple triangular plate spreading.