On the measurement of S_diff splitting caused by lowermost mantle anisotropy

Seismic anisotropy has been detected at many depths of the Earth, including its upper layers, the lowermost mantle and the inner core. While upper mantle seismic anisotropy is relatively straightforward to resolve, lowermost mantle anisotropy has proven to be more complicated to measure. Due to their long, horizontal ray paths along the core–mantle boundary (CMB), S waves diffracted along the CMB (S_diff) are potentially strongly influenced by lowermost mantle anisotropy. S_diff waves can be recorded over a large epicentral distance range and thus sample the lowermost mantle everywhere around the globe. S_diff therefore represents a promising phase for studying lowermost mantle anisotropy; however, previous studies have pointed out some difficulties with the interpretation of differential SH_diff–SV_diff traveltimes in terms of seismic anisotropy. Here, we provide a new, comprehensive assessment of the usability of S_diff waves to infer lowermost mantle anisotropy. Using both axisymmetric and fully 3-D global wavefield simulations, we show that there are cases in which S_diff can reliably detect and characterize deep mantle anisotropy when measuring traditional splitting parameters (as opposed to differential traveltimes). First, we analyze isotropic effects on S_diff polarizations, including the influence of realistic velocity structure (such as 3-D velocity heterogeneity and ultra-low velocity zones), the character of the lowermost mantle velocity gradient, mantle attenuation structure, and Earth’s Coriolis force. Secondly, we evaluate effects of seismic anisotropy in both the upper and the lowermost mantle on SH_diff waves. In particular, we investigate how SH_diff waves are split by seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle near the source and how this anisotropic signature propagates to the receiver for a variety of lowermost mantle models. We demonstrate that, in particular and predictable cases, anisotropy leads to S_diff splitting that can be clearly distinguished from other waveform effects. These results enable us to lay out a strategy for the analysis of S_diff splitting due to anisotropy at the base of the mantle, which includes steps to help avoid potential pitfalls, with attention paid to the initial polarization of S_diff and the influence of source-side anisotropy. We demonstrate our S_diff splitting method using three earthquakes that occurred beneath the Celebes Sea, measured at many transportable array stations at a suitable epicentral distance. We resolve consistent and well-constrained S_diff splitting parameters due to lowermost mantle anisotropy beneath the northeastern Pacific Ocean.