Hot upwelling conduit beneath the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Issue 22 (24th November 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sun, Daoyuan; Miller, Meghan S.; Holt, Adam F.; Becker, Thorsten W.
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 41:Issue 22(2014:Nov.)
• Page Start: 8037
• Page End: 8044
• Publication Date: 2014-11-24
• Subjects: Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1002/2014GL061884
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>The Atlas Mountains of Morocco display high topography, no deep crustal root, and regions of localized Cenozoic alkaline volcanism. Previous seismic imaging and geophysical studies have implied a hot mantle upwelling as the source of the volcanism and high elevation. However, the existence, shape, and physical properties of an associated mantle anomaly are debated. Here we use seismic waveform analysis from a broadband deployment and geodynamic modeling to define the physical properties and morphology of the anomaly. The imaged low‐velocity structure extends to ~200 km beneath the Atlas and appears ~350 K hotter than the ambient mantle with possible partial melting. It includes a lateral conduit, which suggests that the Quaternary volcanism arises from the upper mantle. Moreover, the shape and temperature of the imaged anomaly indicate that the unusually high topography of the Atlas Mountains is due to active mantle support.</p> </abstract>