Mapping seismic anisotropy of the lithospheric mantle beneath the northern and eastern Bohemian Massif (central Europe)

We evaluate 3D body-wave anisotropic parameters—shear-wave splitting (fast S polarizations and delay times of the split slow shear waves) and directional terms of relative P-wave residuals from data of passive seismic experiment BOHEMA II (2004–2005). Data from 34 temporary stations increased substantial density of observations in the Bohemain Massif (BM) and allowed us to scan in detail the upper mantle structure of its northern and eastern parts. For the first time, we delimit domains of the mantle lithosphere in this part of the BM and infer 3D self-consistent models of their fabrics by a joint inversion of the body-wave anisotropic parameters. Fabrics of the northern and north-eastern parts of the BM are approximated best by peridotite aggregates with the (a,c) foliations dipping approximately to the N and NE, respectively, whereas a model with the westerly dipping a lineation fits best the fabric of the south-eastern domain. The Saxothuringian fabric, NW of the Eger Rift, extends to the east across the Elbe Fault Zone and continues along this zone to the southeast beneath the Cretaceous Basin. The south-eastward continuation of the Elbe Fault Zone seems to be related to the boundary between two different fabrics of the northern and southern Brunovistulian domains below the Moravo–Silesian zone. This study shows an underthrusting of the Brunovistulian micro-plate beneath the eastern rim of the BM and indicates that its northern and southern fragments might have originally belonged to Baltica and to Gondwana, respectively. According to a zone of distinctly decreased anisotropic signals, the Brunovistulian micro-plate extends at least about 100 km westward beneath the Moldanubian. With these new findings we update the domain-like mantle structure of the BM and compare the results with inferences from the upper mantle velocity tomography and depth changes of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary retrieved in a detailed model from relative residuals and from the receiver functions. Inferences on anisotropic structure beneath the permanent observatories included in different experiments are stable and are validated by the BOHEMA II experiment.

► Bohemian Massif mantle lithosphere consists of several domains with their own fossil fabric.
► Joint inversions of anisotropic parameters of body waves resulted in self-consistent models.
► Symmetry axes of retrieved anisotropic models of the domains dip from horizontal.
► Lateral changes of anisotropy are used to map boundaries of the domains.