An upper-mantle S-wave velocity model for Northern Europe from Love and Rayleigh group velocities

A model of upper-mantle S-wave velocity and transverse anisotropy beneath northwestern Europe is presented, based on regional surface wave observations. Group velocities for both Love and Rayleigh surface waves are measured on waveform data from international and regional data archives (including temporary deployments) and then inverted for group velocity maps, using a method accounting for Fresnel zone sensitivity. The group velocity variations are larger than in global reference maps, and we are able to resolve unprecedented details. We then apply a linear inversion scheme to invert for local 1-D shear wave velocity profiles which are consequently assembled to a 3-D model. By choosing conservative regularization parameters in the 2-D inversion, we ensure the smoothness of the group velocity maps and hence of the resulting 3-D shear wave speed model. To account for the different tectonic regimes in the study region and investigate the sensitivity of the 1-D inversions to inaccuracies in crustal parameters, we analyse inversions with different reference models of increasing complexity (pure 1-D, 3-D crust/1-D mantle and pure 3-D). We find that all inverted models are very consistent at depths below 70 km. At shallower depths, the constraints put by the reference models, primarily Moho depth which we do not invert for, remain the main cause for uncertainty in our inversion. The final 3-D model shows large variations in S-wave velocity of up to ±12 per cent. We image an intriguing low-velocity anomaly in the depth range 70–150 km that extends from the Iceland plume beneath the North Atlantic and in a more than 400 km wide channel under Southern Scandinavia. Beneath Southern Norway, the negative perturbations are around 10 per cent with respect to ak135, and a shallowing of the anomaly is indicated which could be related to the sustained uplift of Southern Scandinavia in Neogene times. Furthermore, our upper-mantle model reveals good alignment to ancient plate boundaries and first-order crustal fronts around the triple junction of the Baltica-Avalonia–Laurentia collision in the North Sea.