Shear wave splitting in a young continent-continent collision: An example from Eastern Turkey

We have determined the shear wave splitting fast polarization direction and delay time using data from the ETSE broadband experiment (Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment), a deployment of 29 broadband seismic stations across the collision zone of the Arabian, Eurasian, and Anatolian plates. Our results show that the fast polarization directions are relatively uniform and they exhibit primarily NE–SW orientations. No abrupt changes in anisotropy directions are observed across the main tectonic units in the region: the Bitlis Suture (BS) and the North and Eastern Anatolian Fault zones. The fast polarization directions are determined to be sub‐parallel to the Anatolian, Arabian, and Eurasian absolute plate velocities, except for those stations in the northeastern corner of the Anatolian Plateau. Observed delay times range from 0.7 to 2.0 seconds with an average value of 1.0 second; the largest values are within the northern Anatolian Plateau which is underlain by an exceptionally low velocity zone in the uppermost mantle. We interpret shear wave splitting as the vector difference of the Eurasian lithosphere and northeastern or southwestern directed flow of the asthenospheric mantle. Comparisons of the polarization anisotropy with measurements of Pn azimuthal anisotropy suggest vertical anisotropic layering except in those areas which are underlain by partially molten uppermost mantle.