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This study presents an approach to better characterize the P‐wave and S‐wave velocity structure of the seafloor sediment layer using ocean bottom seismometers. The presence of low‐velocity seafloor sediment layers influences the observed seismic record at the seafloor over a broad frequency range, such that detailed knowledge of this sediment structure is essential to predict its effect on teleseismic records. We use the radial component of teleseismic P waves and autocorrelation functions of the radial, vertical, and pressure components of teleseismic P and S waves to obtain sediment layer models using the Markov chain Monte Carlo approach with parallel tempering. Synthetic tests show that the body waves constrain the P‐ and S‐wave impedances and travel times and the P‐ to S‐wave velocity ratio of the sediment layers. The proposed method resolves thin layers at a high resolution, including the uppermost thin (∼50 m to a few hundred meters) low S‐wave velocity layer. Real data applications at sites across the Pacific Ocean that are coincident with previous in situ studies demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in characterizing the seafloor sediment unit. The sediment models characterized by this new approach will allow us to more accurately predict and correct the effects of sediment layers in generating P‐ and S‐wave reverberations. Plain Language Summary: Ocean bottom seismometers are powerful tools for investigating the detailed structure of the oceanic mantle. However, most ocean bottom seismometers are placed above the low‐velocity water‐saturated sediment layer, such that their seismic records are inevitably affected by this seafloor sediment layer. Detailed constraints on the structure of the seafloor sediment layer allow us to accurately predict its effects on the observed seismic records. The seafloor sediment layer may consist of multiple discontinuities and vary regionally. This study proposes a new approach for characterizing the seismic properties of the seafloor sediment layer using teleseismic body waves recorded at ocean bottom seismometers. Synthetic tests show that the method can resolve thin sublayers within the sediment layer, such as a very thin low shear‐wave velocity layer and sharp seismic velocity jumps. Real data applications show that the sediment models obtained using this approach are in good agreement with those obtained from direct measurements and previous body‐wave analyses. Our proposed method will enable more detailed prediction and correction of the influence of the sediment layer on ocean bottom seismometer records, thereby providing more accurate constraints on deeper Earth structures. Key Points: The seismic properties of the seafloor sediment layer are characterized using ocean bottom seismometer teleseismic body‐wave recordsThe P‐ and S‐wave impedances and travel times and the VP/VS values of each sublayer within the sediment layer are resolvedIn situ seafloor sediment structure constraints will enable accurate correction and prediction of shallow structure effects [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents reflectivity images of the northeast (NE) Japan subduction zone continuous across the ocean and land. As nearly half of its forearc region is under the ocean, data from ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) must be utilized to fully image the region by passive seismic analysis. The use of OBS data has been a challenge due to inherent characters of the ocean bottom observations: high noise level and effects of seafloor sediment. Now, decent imaging is possible in NE Japan overcoming the high level noise due to the accumulated data set of the OBSs. The low‐velocity of seafloor sediment significantly delays and amplifies S waves passing through them, and thus complicates teleseismic waveforms. We identify and correct these effects to produce coherent receiver function images throughout the amphibious subduction zone. Our images provide a potential for discussing new structural features and will help better understanding of the dynamics of the NE Japan subduction zone. Plain Language Summary: In northeast Japan, the Pacific plate is subducting beneath the Japanese arc, and delineating how the actual subduction is taking place at depths has been the target of many seismological studies. This study presents our effort of continuous imaging of subsurface interfaces across the ocean and land employing an amphibious data set. On the land side, there are dense seismic networks that have been used to reveal the seismic interfaces using converted phases of distant earthquakes. On the ocean side, the accumulation of data from temporary ocean bottom seismometers in the last decade and the recently installed ocean bottom cable network has made it possible to use a similar approach as on the land. However, the low‐velocity sediment beneath the seafloor causes systematic slower arrivals and larger amplitudes of the seismic phases of interest that result in highly disturbed images if we analyze them in the same way as the land. Here, we identify and correct the effects of the seafloor sediment to analyze the seismic interfaces across the ocean and land. As a result, we succeed in imaging the interfaces of the subducting oceanic crust throughout the region, as well as previously unidentified features under the ocean that may deserve future investigation. Key Points: The northeast Japan subduction zone is imaged using receiver functions (RFs) of an amphibious data setWe identify significant amplitude and time delay effects on RFs from seafloor sedimentCorrections of the sediment effects significantly improve images across an amphibious region [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed waveform inversion of the P waveforms recorded by our BroadBand Ocean Bottom Seismometers (BBOBSs) deployed in the Northwestern Pacific. Consequently, the depth profile of the P velocity of the oceanic upper mantle, which has not been well resolved by previous surface wave or receiver function analyses, was revealed. We considered the azimuthal anisotropy in the lithosphere, which significantly improved the variance reduction from 34% to 44%. The resulting P model exhibited higher and lower velocities in the lithosphere and asthenosphere, respectively. The velocity contrast was found to be second/third of that observed in the previous S models; however the obtained model appeared to have some trade‐off with the VS structures in the vicinity of the source. We compared our P model with the previous S model obtained using our BBOBSs and obtained the VP/VS model. The resulting VP/VS model has two notable features. First, the lithosphere is characterized by a rapid increase in the VP/VS values with depth, which implies chemical stratification. Second, the VP/VS values in the vicinity of the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB) are larger than the synthetic values of any major upper mantle mineral predicted by considering the anharmonic effects, which suggests the effects of anelasticity or melt. Key Points: We inverted P waveforms recorded by our BBOBSs to obtain the depth profile of the P velocity beneath the older Pacific plateCombining our P model with a previous S model revealed two notable features in Vp/VS structuresThe obtained Vp/Vs model suggests chemical stratification in the lithosphere and the effects of anelasticity or melt at the LAB [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We have developed and implemented a new grid-based earthquake analysis system that continuously monitors long-period seismic wavefield of 20–50s recorded by broadband seismometers. The new analysis system automatically and simultaneously determines the origin time, location and seismic moment tensor of seismic events within 3min of their occurrence. This system has been in operation since 2003 at the Earthquake Research Institute (http://wwweic.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/GRiD MT/), and the locations and origin times are usually obtained within 3s and 20km away from the earthquake catalog values determined by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). In addition, moment tensor solutions are comparable to the network solutions manually obtained. This new system should enable us to monitor long-period seismic wavefield continuously further to help identifying long-period (or low-frequency) events which are undetectable by the conventional monitoring of short-period seismic wavefields. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The mobility of the lithosphere over a weaker asthenosphere constitutes the essential element of plate tectonics, and thus the understanding of the processes at the [ithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is fundamental to understand how our planet works. It is especially so for oceanic plates because their relatively simple creation and evolution should enable easy elucidation of the LAB. Data from borehole broadband ocean bottom seismometers show that the LAB beneath the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates is sharp and age-dependent. The observed large shear wave velocity reduction at the LAB requires a partially molten asthenosphere consisting of horizontal melt-rich layers embedded in melt-rich mantle, which accounts for the large viscosity contrast at the LAB that facilitates horizontal plate motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We determined the depths of the 410-km and 660-km seismic discontinuities (called “410” and “660,” respectively, hereafter) beneath the Philippine Sea and the northwestern Pacific by the receiver function method; we used the broadband data obtained from broadband ocean-bottom seismographs. We found a very deep “660” at 691km in the stagnant slab beneath the Philippine Sea. In the surrounding Philippine Sea regions and northwestern Pacific, the “660” appears at depths of 659–674km. Comparison of the “660” depth and P-velocity anomalies indicated that temperatures in the stagnant slab are lower than that in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) beneath the northwestern Pacific by about 500K. The temperature in the MTZ beneath the Parece Vela Basin and West Philippine Sea Basin, which surrounds the stagnant slab, is lower than that in the MTZ beneath the Pacific by about 200K. The water content in the stagnant slab (∼0.2wt% H2O) is higher than that in the other regions; however, the large uncertainty in the estimated water content (±0.2–0.3wt% H2O) prevents us from arriving at a definitive conclusion regarding the presence of water in the stagnant slab. Therefore, it is desirable to use other geophysical parameters (e.g., electrical conductivity) along with the seismic parameters in order to obtain an accurate estimate of the water content in the MTZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We have determined the three-dimensional shear wave speed structure of the upper mantle in and around the Philippine Sea region using seismograms recorded by dense land-based and long-term broadband ocean bottom seismographic stations. We used a surface wave tomography technique in which multimode phase speeds are measured and inverted for a 3-D shear wave speed structure by incorporating the effects of a finite frequency and ray bending. The new ocean bottom data provided us with improved spatial resolution (~300 km) in the Philippine Sea region. In the upper 120 km, the shear wave speed structure is well correlated with seafloor age. At depths greater than 160 km, fast anomalies of the subducting Pacific Plate are clearly defined. We also found slow speed anomalies beneath the Kyushu–Palau ridge at depths greater than 120 km. Along the Izu–Bonin(Ogasawara)–Mariana arc, we have detected three separate slow anomalies in the mantle wedge at depths shallower than 100 km beneath the back arc. Each anomaly has a width of ~500 km. Moreover, these three anomalies have a close relationship with the three groups of frontal and rear arc volcanoes having distinct Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope ratios. We suggest that each of the anomalies is a site of large-scale flow of upper mantle into the mantle wedge, and that each already contains a component from the adjacent subducting slab. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]