A Temporary Broadband Seismic Array in the Largest Desert of China: TASTE

In early Permian, a mantle plume heated up the Tarim block and formed the Tarim large igneous province. It is an interesting phenomenon to explore the interaction between mantle plume and a thick continent lithosphere, because mantle plume has been proposed to be an important route of material and energy transportation in the earth. Currently, the Tarim block is surrounded by Tibetan plateau to its south edge and Tian Shan orogeny to its north edge. The combined effects of both mantle plume activity and plate tectonics should have significantly changed the structure and composition of the Tarim block because of its amalgamations in Neoproterozoic. Seismic imaging plays a key role on revealing the deep structure of the Earth, which could help unravel the questions mentioned before. However, the harsh natural environment in the central part of the Tarim basin, the Taklimakan desert—the largest desert in China—has seriously hampered the broadband seismological observation. From July 2017 to November 2019, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences deployed a 2D broadband seismic array named the Tarim seismic Array for lithoSpheric signaTure of mantle plumE (TASTE) over the inner part of the Tarim basin with an averaged spacing of 60–70 km. The primary target of this project is to obtain a detailed lithospheric structure to resolve the possible lithospheric signatures of Permian mantle plume activity. Here we introduce the basic information of the TASTE network and the performance of these instruments by analyzing the background noise level. Preliminary results of receiver function and ambient noise analyses are also shown, which may suggest a thick sedimentary layer, as well as complicated crust and lithospheric feature.