1. Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
2. Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological Survey of Canada, Sidney, British Columbia V8L 4B2, Canada
3. School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3P6, Canada
4. Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1404, USA
5. Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA

Correspondence to: M. G. Bostock¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.G.B. (e-mail: Email: bostock@geop.ubc.ca).

Abstract

Volatiles that are transported by subducting lithospheric plates to depths greater than 100 km are thought to induce partial melting in the overlying mantle wedge, resulting in arc magmatism and the addition of significant quantities of material to the overlying lithosphere¹. Asthenospheric flow and upwelling within the wedge produce increased lithospheric temperatures in this back-arc region, but the forearc mantle (in the corner of the wedge) is thought to be significantly cooler. Here we explore the structure of the mantle wedge in the southern Cascadia subduction zone using scattered teleseismic waves recorded on a dense portable array of broadband seismometers. We find very low shear-wave velocities in the cold forearc mantle indicated by the exceptional occurrence of an 'inverted' continental Moho, which reverts to normal polarity seaward of the Cascade arc. This observation provides compelling evidence for a highly hydrated and serpentinized forearc region², consistent with thermal and petrological models of the forearc mantle wedge. This serpentinized material is thought to have low strength and may therefore control the down-dip rupture limit of great thrust earthquakes, as well as the nature of large-scale flow in the mantle wedge.

1. Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
2. Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological Survey of Canada, Sidney, British Columbia V8L 4B2, Canada
3. School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3P6, Canada
4. Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1404, USA
5. Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA

Correspondence to: M. G. Bostock¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.G.B. (e-mail: Email: bostock@geop.ubc.ca).