Lithospheric seismic structure of the Anatolian plate and its implications for plateau uplift: evidence from joint inversion of receiver functions and surface waves
Author(s)
Zhou, Pengzhe
Bastow, Ian
Kounoudis, Rita
Ogden, Christopher
Wang, Yanghua
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
High topography (>1 km) on the Anatolian Plate is widely attributed to buoyant mantle support,not just the isostatic response of crustal shortening. However, uncertainties in lithospheric structure hinderattempts to discriminate between competing uplift mechanisms. We jointly inverted receiver functions withRayleigh wave group‐velocity dispersion curves to obtain 1D shear velocity profiles for 575 seismographstations across Anatolia. Crustal thickness increases from ∼25 km in the west to ≤44 km below EasternAnatolia, with short length‐scale Moho topography in places. Within the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP),thicker crust, lower residual topography, higher residual Bouguer gravity anomalies, and faster upper‐mantlewavespeeds north of ∼ 39°N than to the south suggest that northern CAP lithospheric removal is less‐developed.Processes like slab break‐off, lithospheric delamination and/or dripping are therefore more likely to contributeto the uplift in the south, with additional support from buoyant mantle flow through the Cyprus slab tear. A∼5 km Moho step across the Eastern Anatolian Fault (EAF) results partly from dominant crustal shortening onthe Anatolian Plate. Further east, no Moho depth contrast exists across the Bitlis suture; Arabia‐Eurasia crustalshortening has thus been accommodated by both plates. An ENE–WSW‐trending band of positive residualtopography and negative residual Bouguer anomalies parallels the EAF below the northwestern tip of Arabia.This connects to a zone of peak residual topography and slow uppermost mantle wavespeeds below themagmatically active Eastern Anatolian Plateau. These observations are explained best by NE‐flowing, buoyantmantle plume material from the Afar hotspot to the south.
Date Issued
2025-08-01
Date Acceptance
2025-07-15
Citation
G3: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: an electronic journal of the earth sciences, 2025, 26 (8)
ISSN
1525-2027
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
G3: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: an electronic journal of the earth sciences
Volume
26
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Geophysical Union. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e2025GC012393
Date Publish Online
2025-08-01