Postdoctor WU Jing and Professor ZHANG Zhongjie present the lithosphere rheology structure derived from seismic activity and the spatial distribution of seismic energy release, which records the lithospheric deformation from the Late Permian mantle plume activity and the Mesozoic–Cenozoic modifications. In addition, they estimate the crustal thickness and the average crustal Vp/Vs ratio from wide-angle seismic profiling and receiver function imaging.

Their results demonstrate that the seismogenic layer thins away from the proposed center of the Emeishan mantle plume. The layer is approximately 24 km in depth beneath the center of the Emeishan mantle plume and approximately 10 km in depth beneath the margin of the plume, with corresponding crustal thinning and spatial variations of the average crustal Vp/Vs ratio.

Fig. 1. The geodynamic model beneath the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP). (Image by WU)

Wu Jing and Zhang Zhongjie. Spatial distribution of seismic layer, crustal thickness, and Vp/Vs ratio in the Permian Emeishan Mantle Plume region. Gondwana Research. 2012, 22: 127-139 （Download Here）