Upper mantle anisotropy in the northwest Himalaya and Ladakh-Karakoram zone based on SKS splitting analysis

Abstract Seismic anisotropy of the upper mantle beneath the northwest Himalaya and eastern part of the Ladakh-Karakoram zone has been investigated using shear-wave splitting of core-mantle refracted SKS waveforms from 94 teleseismic earthquakes recorded at 28 broadband seismic stations. The SKS splitting parameters (Φ and δt) show a significant strength of anisotropy with a wide range of delay time of split waves (∼0.75-2.94 s). The distinct variations in Fast Polarization Directions (FPDs) along the study section suggest a complex source of anisotropy that cannot be explained by a simple model. In the frontal part of the Himalaya, the FPDs are mostly parallel or sub-parallel to the strike of the Himalayan orogeny suggesting deformation in the shallow lithospheric mantle under compression owing to the India-Asia collision. On the other hand, FPDs observed in the Lesser, Higher, and Tethyan Himalaya largely follow NE-oriented absolute plate motion (APM) of the Indian plate which can be attributed to basal shear as the Indian plate moves over the asthenospheric mantle with a minor contribution from shallow lithospheric deformation. A complex anisotropy pattern is observed in the Indus Suture Zone. The FPDs near the Karakoram Fault Zone (KFZ) are parallel or sub-parallel to the strike of the KF. The strike-slip or transpressional deformation in the lithospheric mantle in the KFZ is considered as the major source of anisotropy beneath the KFZ. The study envisaged that the KF is a lithospheric scale fault that largely accommodates the India-Asia collision and extrusion in the Tibetan Plateau.