Seismic constraints on magma evolution beneath Mount Baekdu (Changbai) volcano from transdimensional Bayesian inversion of ambient noise data

Abstract

The magmatic process of continental intraplate volcanism (CIV) is difficult to understand due to heterogeneous interactions with the crust and the lithospheric upper mantle. Mount Baekdu (Changbai) volcano (MBV) is one of the prominent CIVs in northeast Asia that has shown a complex history of eruptions and associated magmatic structures. In addition, the relationship between the crustal magmatic structures and upper mantle phenomena are enigmatic due to the lack of consistent seismic constraints for the lithospheric structure. To enhance comprehensive understanding of the MBV magma evolution, we image the lithospheric structure beneath the MBV and surrounding regions using ambient noise data and the following two approaches: (1) multiple measures of ambient noise dispersion are acquired through different methods and (2) a transdimensional Bayesian inversion method is utilized to obtain unbiased results in joint analysis of the multiple data sets. The estimated Earth structure shows a thick crust (~40 km) and a crustal anomaly with relatively high S wave velocity in the depth range 20–40 km. This type of structure extends to ~100 km north from the MBV and is accompanied by the shallow and rapid S wave velocity decrease beneath the mantle lid (~80 km). Through a comparison with previous P wave models, we interpret this structure as a consequence of compositional partitioning by mafic underplating and overlying cooled felsic layers as a result of fractional crystalization. Show more