Abstract

The northeastern (NE) Tibetan plateau has been a prime site to understand the dynamic processes responsible for the rise and lateral growth of the Tibetan plateau. Here we construct a high‐resolution lithospheric scale isotropic SH wave velocity model (down to the depth of 130 km) for the NE Tibetan plateau and its adjacent regions based on the measurements of fundamental‐mode Love wave dispersions (20-100 s) with seismic data recorded by ChinArray II and China Digital Seismic Array using two‐plane‐wave method. Prominent slow SH wave velocity (VSH) is observed in the mid‐lower crust of the NE Tibetan plateau, specifically in the Qilian Orogenic Belt and the Songpan-Ganzi Terrane regions, coincident with previously indicated significantly slow SV wave velocity (VSV), probably implying the existence of partial melts in the mid-lower crust. This low SH wave velocity anomaly could be traced down to the uppermost mantle, indicating a weak and warm lithosphere, which we interpret as a consequence of asthenosphere upwelling after lithospheric mantle removal in the NE Tibetan plateau. The asthenosphere upwelling and associated deep‐seated thermal buoyancy could explain the occurrence of partial melting in the mid‐lower crust and account for parts of high elevations in the NE Tibetan plateau. The western Qinling orogenic belt is characterized with a high velocity anomaly in most of lithosphere, which is inconsistent with the existence of channel flow within the lithosphere along the Qinling orogenic belt from the Tibetan plateau.

  https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JB017788