P-Wave Arrival-Time Tomography of the Middle East Using ISC-EHB and Waveform Data

Authors

  • Ebru Bozdağ Department of Applied Mathematics & Statistics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA, & Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4269-3533
  • Susini Desilva Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA, & Columbus State Community College, Columbus, OH, USA
  • Guust Nolet Université Côte d’Azur/CNRS/OCA/IRD, Géoazur, Sophia Antipolis, France, & Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2709-1518
  • Ridvan Orsvuran Department of Applied Mathematics & Statistics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5098-7515
  • Rengin Gok Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
  • Yahya M. Tarabulsi Saudi Geological Survey, National Program for Earthquakes and Volcanos, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Ahmed Hosny Saudi Geological Survey, National Program for Earthquakes and Volcanos, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Khalid Yousef Saudi Geological Survey, National Program for Earthquakes and Volcanos, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Abdullah Mousa Saudi Geological Survey, National Program for Earthquakes and Volcanos, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v4i1.1349

Keywords:

seismic tomography, P wave traveltimes, inversion, mantle, Middle East

Abstract

High-resolution seismic images are essential to gain insights into tectonic and geodynamical processes and assess seismic hazards. We constructed a P-wave model, MEPT (Middle East P-wave Travel-time), of the upper mantle beneath the Middle East and the surrounding region, which has a complex tectonic and geological history embodying various plate boundaries such as spreading ridges, subduction, suture zones, and strike-slip faults causing destructive earthquakes, specifically in Iran, Caucasus and Anatolia, and active volcanism. We use data from the ISC-EHB bulletin and onset-time readings of first-arrival P waves from waveforms recorded in the Arabian Peninsula. The additional onset-time readings from the regional waveform data significantly improve the resolution of the structure underneath the Arabian Peninsula, clearly indicating the boundary between the Arabian platform and the Arabian shield down to about 300 km depth, highlighted by slow and fast wavespeed perturbations in the upper mantle. Consistent with previous studies, we observe the Arabian-Eurasian collision, the Red Sea rifting, the Hellenic Arc, and low-velocity anomalies beneath the lithosphere of the Red Sea and the west of the Arabian shield. Our model supports the connection of the slow wavespeed anomalies in the lithosphere along the Red Sea to the Afar plume and shows evidence for smaller mantle upwellings underneath the Arabian plate and Jordan.

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Bozdağ, E., Desilva, S., Nolet, G., Orsvuran, R., Gok, R., Tarabulsi, Y. M., Hosny, A., Yousef, K., & Mousa, A. (2025). P-Wave Arrival-Time Tomography of the Middle East Using ISC-EHB and Waveform Data. Seismica, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v4i1.1349

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