Upper Mantle Earthquakes Along the Edge of the Wyoming Craton

Abstract

Earthquakes in continental regions overwhelmingly occur in the crust where low pressure and temperature promote brittle failure in response to tectonic stress. In rare cases, primarily in the thickened lithosphere near the Himalayas and Tibet, continental earthquakes occur in the uppermost mantle, perhaps implying an abnormally deep brittle-ductile transition zone created by relatively low temperatures (≲600°C) and the increased strength of olivine-rich mantle rocks. Here we present evidence for nine mantle earthquakes—only four of which were previously recognized—along the edge of the Wyoming Craton in the western U.S. Eight of the nine earthquakes occurred >15 km beneath the Moho where temperatures are likely above 700°C. We infer a mixture of brittle and ductile (thermal runaway) source processes facilitated by elevated strain rates from regional or edge-driven mantle convection, which is thought to be a primary force behind crustal seismicity in the Intermountain West.