Seismic Studies of the Root of the Sierra Nevada

这项研究是利用美国西部地震台网对当地地震的记录和先前的地震折射研究来更好地约束内华达山脉下的地壳结构。最近的研究重新引发了争论，即内华达山脉是否有一个寒冷的深根，或者被解释为一个根的效应是否由一个异常低速的、温暖的、扩展的地幔在过去10年中升温引起的。这些结果将对我们对美国西部岩石圈和上地幔的形成和构造的认识产生重要影响

This research is to use western U.S. seismic network recordings of local earthquakes and prior seismic refraction studies to better constrain the crustal structure under the Sierra Nevada mountains. Recent studies have revived the controversy over whether the Sierra Nevada has a cold, deep root or whether effects interpreted as a root are caused by an unusually low- velocity, warm, extending mantle that has heated up within the last 10 my. The results will have important implications on our knowledge of the creation and tectonics of the lithosphere and upper mantle of the western U.S.