Detecting the structure of the mantle transition zone in Japan subduction zone from the waveform triplications

This paper applies the triplicated waveforms of an intermediate-depth earthquake at the Hokkaido of Japan, retrieved from the China Digital Seismograph Network, to mapping the structure of the mantle transition zone in Japan subduction zone. The results show that the P-wave velocity structure is consis-tent to S-wave velocity structure for the region as a whole. The cold subduction slab of the western Pacific Plate causes a 10 km uplift of the 410 km discontinuity and a 25 km depression of the 660 km discontinuity; atop the two discontinuities, there are high-velocity layers associated with the slab; below the 660 km discontinuity, there is a low-velocity anomaly with the thickness of 65 km. The seismic velocity ratio (vP/vS) shows a lower value (~1.827) zone at the depth range of 210—400 km, indicating the low Poisson’s ratio signature of the oceanic plate; and the velocity ratio shows a higher value (~1.831) zone at the depth range of 560—685 km, possibly implying the hydrous environment at the base of mantle transition zone.