Publication 109
Electrical anisotropy of South African lithosphere compared with seismic anisotropy from shear-wave splitting analyses
Hamilton, M.P., A.G. Jones, R.L. Evans, S. Evans, C.J.S. Fourie, X. Garcia, A. Mountford, J.E. Spratt, and the SAMTEX Team
Abstract
Electrical anisotropy in southern Africa, inferred from the analysis of magnetotelluric (MT) data
recorded as part of the Southern African MT Experiment (SAMTEX), is compared with seismic anisotropy
inferred from an SKS shear-wave splitting study in the same region. Given the vastly varying penetration
depths in the survey area, electrical anisotropy is derived in terms of approximate depth,
rather than frequency. Electrical anisotropy directions for crustal depths (<35 km) show more distinct
variability than those for upper mantle depths, and, not surprisingly, appear to be strongly related to
large-scale geological structures. Our results for upper lithospheric mantle depths (>45 km) are not
consistent with the fast axis directions inferred from the SKS analyses. Upper mantle electrical results
appear to be mostly a consequence of the geometry of large-scale geological structures and provide
evidence that some crustal structures are distinct at depth, while others seem to be confined to the crust.
Our results indicate that the causative region for the seismic anisotropy in the lithospheric mantle has
either a correspondingly weak electrical anisotropic signature, or is more prominent at greater
lithospheric depths than those we investigate here.
Source
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, , 158, 226-239.
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Alan G Jones / 23 September 2006 /
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