Analysis of PKP scattering using mantle mixing simulations and axisymmetric 3D waveforms

The scattering of PKP waves in the lower mantle produces isolated signals before the PKIKP phase. We explore whether these so-called PKIKP precursors can be related to wave scattering off mid ocean ridge basalt (MORB) fragments that have been advected in the deep mantle throughout geologic time. We construct seismic models of small-scale (>20 km) heterogeneity in the lower mantle informed by mantle mixing simulations from Brandenburg et al. (2008) and generate PKIKP precursors using 3D, axisymmetric waveform simulations up to 0.75 Hz. We consider two end-member geodynamic models with fundamentally different distributions of MORB in the lower mantle. Our results suggest that the accumulation of MORB at the base of the mantle is a viable hypothesis for the origin of PKP scattering. We find that the strength of the PKIKP precursor amplitudes is consistent with P wave speed heterogeneity of 0.1-0.2%, as reported previously. The radial distribution of MORB has a profound effect on the strength of PKIKP precursors. Simulation of PKIKP precursors for models with an increasing MORB concentration in the lowermost 500 km of the mantle appears to reproduce most accurately the strength of PKIKP precursors in Global Seismic Network waveforms. These models assume that MORB has an excess density of at least 7%. Additional simulations of more complex geodynamic models will better constrain the geodynamic conditions to explain the significant variability of PKP scattering strength.