Yellowstone: Seismic Evidence for a Chemical Mantle Plume

Abstract

Arrivals of P waves from a recent event at the Nevada Test Site, recorded at a distance of 15.3°, passed beneath the Yellowstone caldera at depths of 200 and 400 kilometers. The travel time anomalies are modeled by a vertical cylindrical structure with a high-velocity core and a low-velocity collar as compared with the more normal mantle. The velocity structure and vertical extent of this feature are consistent with a chemical mantle plume beneath the Yellowstone caldera.