Geophysical Journal International

Geophys. J. Int. (2017) 210, 1410–1431 doi: 10.1093/gji/ggx247

Advance Access publication 2017 June 8
GJI Seismology

P-wave anisotropy, mantle wedge flow and olivine fabrics beneath

Japan

Xin Liu1,2 and Dapeng Zhao1

1 Departmentof Geophysics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980–8578, Japan. E-mail: zhao@tohoku.ac.jp
2 Key
Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, Ministry of Education, and College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China,
Qingdao 266100, China. E-mail: liuxin@ouc.edu.cn

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Accepted 2017 June 6. Received 2017 June 5; in original form 2016 December 31

SUMMARY
We present a new 3-D anisotropic P-wave velocity (Vp) model for the crust and upper
mantle of the Japan subduction zone obtained by inverting a large number of high-quality
P-wave traveltime data of local earthquakes and teleseismic events. By assuming orthorhom-
bic anisotropy with a vertical symmetry axis existing in the modeling space, isotropic Vp
tomography and 3-D Vp azimuthal and radial anisotropies are determined simultaneously.
According to a simple flow field and the obtained Vp anisotropic tomography, we estimate the
distribution of olivine fabrics in the mantle wedge. Our results show that the forearc mantle
wedge above the subducting Pacific slab beneath NE Japan exhibits an azimuthal anisotropy
with trench-parallel fast velocity directions (FVDs) and Vhf > Vv > Vhs (here Vv is Vp in
the vertical direction, Vhf and Vhs are P-wave velocities in the fast and slow directions in the
horizontal plane), where B-type olivine fabric with vertical trench-parallel flow may dominate.
Such an anisotropic feature is not obvious in the forearc mantle wedge above the Philippine
Sea (PHS) slab under SW Japan, probably due to higher temperatures and more fluids there
associated with the young and warm PHS slab subduction. Trench-normal FVDs and Vhf >
Vv > Vhs are generally revealed in the mantle wedge beneath the arc and backarc in Japan,
where E-type olivine fabric with FVD-parallel horizontal flow may dominate. Beneath western
Honshu, however, the mantle wedge exhibits an anisotropy of Vv > Vhf > Vhs and so C-type
olivine fabric may dominate, suggesting that the water content is the highest there, because
both the PHS and Pacific slabs exist there and their dehydration reactions release abundant
fluids to the overlying mantle wedge.
Key words: Body waves; Seismic anisotropy; Seismic tomography; Subduction zone
processes.

The subduction processes, in particular, those occurring in

1 I N T RO D U C T I O N
Strong interactions among four lithospheric plates are taking place
in and around the Japan Islands (Fig. 1). In NE Japan, the Pacific
plate is subducting beneath the Okhotsk plate at the Kuril-Japan
Trench. In SW Japan, the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate is descending
beneath the Eurasian plate at the Nankai Trough and the Ryukyu
Trench, whereas the Pacific plate is subducting beneath the PHS
and Eurasian plates. More than 100 active arc volcanoes exist on
the Japan Islands along the volcanic front and in the backarc areas
(Fig. 1), which are produced by joint effects of fluids from dehy-
dration reactions of the subducting slabs and convection (corner
flow) in the mantle wedge above the slabs (e.g. Tatsumi 1989; Zhao
et al. 1992; Iwamori & Zhao 2000; Tamura et al. 2002; Hasegawa
et al. 2013). The arc magmas and fluids also affect the nucleation
of various earthquakes in subduction zones (see Zhao 2015 for a
recent review).
the mantle wedge, can be well constrained by studying seismic
anisotropy (e.g. Anderson 1989; Savage 1999; Maupin & Park
2007, 2015; Long 2013; Skemer & Hansen 2016; Zhao et al.
2016). Many previous studies have investigated seismic azimuthal
anisotropy of the Japan subduction zone by making shear wave
splitting measurements (e.g. Ando et al. 1983; Okada et al. 1995;
Hiramatsu et al. 1997; Nakajima et al. 2006; Tono et al. 2009;
Wirth & Long 2010; Huang et al. 2011a,b; Savage et al. 2016),
anisotropic receiver-function analyses (e.g. Wirth & Long 2012;
Watanabe & Oda 2014) and P-wave velocity (Vp) azimuthal
anisotropy tomography (e.g. Hirahara & Ishikawa 1984; Ishise &
Oda 2005; Wang & Zhao 2008, 2013; Huang et al. 2011c, 2015;
Liu et al. 2013; Koulakov et al. 2015; Wei et al. 2015). A recent
high-resolution 3-D model of azimuthal anisotropy obtained by a
joint inversion of P- and S-wave traveltimes clearly reveals trench-
normal fast velocity directions (FVDs) in the mantle wedge beneath

1410 
C The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.
 Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1411

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Figure 1. Tectonic settings of the study region (modified from Liu et al. 2013). The red triangles denote the active and Quaternary volcanoes. The solid
sawtooth lines and the black dashed line denote the plate boundaries. The blue and red lines denote the depth contours of the upper boundaries of the subducting
Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs, respectively, which are constructed based on previous studies (e.g. Zhao et al. 1994, 2012; Hayes et al. 2012; Nakajima et al.
2009; Hasegawa et al. 2013).

the arc and backarc areas (Liu & Zhao 2016c). This feature is well
consistent with the previous results of body-wave (P-wave) tomog-
raphy(see Zhao et al. 2016 for a detailed review) and surface wave
tomography (Liu & Zhao 2016a). The radial anisotropy beneath the
Japan Islands has been also investigated by Vp radial anisotropy to-
mography (Wang & Zhao 2013; Niu et al. 2016; Wang et al. 2017a)
and surface wave tomography (Yoshizawa et al. 2010). However,
there is a discrepancy in the mantle wedge radial anisotropy be-
tween the body-wave and surface wave models (see Zhao et al.
2016 for details).
The previous studies of Vp radial anisotropy tomography
(Wang & Zhao 2013; Niu et al. 2016; Wang et al. 2017a) assumed a
vertical axis of hexagonal symmetry existing in the modeling space,
which is different from the Vp azimuthal anisotropy tomography
which assumes a horizontal axis of hexagonal symmetry in the mod-
eling space (e.g. Wang & Zhao 2008, 2013). The different assump-
tions make it difficult to simultaneously interpret the azimuthal and
radial anisotropic results in the same study region, which hinders our
understanding of subduction dynamics beneath Japan. To resolve
this problem, in this work we develop a new method to simulta-
neously determine Vp azimuthal and radial anisotropies, as well
as isotropic Vp tomography in the crust and upper mantle. We
use a large number of high-quality P-wave traveltimes of local
earthquakes and teleseismic events recorded by the dense seismic
networks on the Japan Islands. Our present results shed important
new light on seismic anisotropy, structural heterogeneity, as well as
flow pattern and olivine fabrics in the mantle wedge of the Japan
subduction zone.
2 D ATA
We use 1852 seismic stations belonging to the Kiban seismic net-
work installed on the Japan Islands (Fig. 2a, Okada et al. 2004),
which include 796 stations of the High-sensitivity seismic network
(Hi-net; Fig. 2b). Two sets of high-quality traveltime data are used to
1412 X. Liu and D. Zhao
Figure 2. Distribution of seismic stations (red squares) of (a) the Kiban seismic network and (b) the High-sensitivity seismic network (Hi-net). Epicentral
distribution of (c) the local earthquakes (colour dots) and (d) the teleseismic events (blue dots) used in this study. The colours in (c) denote the focal depths
whose scale is shown in the map.
conduct tomographic inversions. The first data set contains 501 571
P-wave arrival times of 2528 local shallow and deep earthquakes
which occurred in and around the Japan Islands (Fig. 2c). The
second data set contains 505 452 P-wave relative traveltime resid-
uals of 747 teleseismic events (blue circles in Fig. 2d), which are
measured precisely from digital seismograms using a waveform
cross-correlation method. The two sets of data are derived from Liu
& Zhao (2016b) who determined only isotropic Vp tomography of
the Japan subduction zone.
Among the great number of local earthquakes (∼1598 000)
recorded by the dense seismic networks on the Japan Islands
(Fig. 2a) during 2002 June to 2015 April, a best set of events was
selected for tomographic inversions (Liu & Zhao 2016b). The shal-
low (<100 km depth) offshore events (∼302 000) were removed
from the data set because of their poor hypocentral locations. The
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study region was divided into many cubic blocks with a size of
50 × 50 × 10 km3 . In each block, a local earthquake was selected
by a specific scheme of selection according to the maximum number
of recording stations and the minimum formal uncertainty of the
hypocentral parameters. As a result, 2528 local events were selected
(Fig. 2c), which generated 501 571 P-wave arrival times whose pick-
ing accuracy is estimated to be 0.05–0.10 s.This data set contains
more P-wave arrivals than those released by the Japan Meteoro-
logical Agency (JMA) Unified Earthquake Catalog, because all the
clear P arrivals were picked up from the original vertical-component
seismograms by the seismological staffs of Tohoku University. The
uncertainty of hypocentral locations is <5 km for all the events and
<3 km for the events beneath the seismic network.
Our second data set contains 505 452 P-wave relative travel-
time residuals from 747 teleseismic events (Fig. 2d), which were
 Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1413

So far, the parameter C in eq. (1) has been treated in different ways
by the previous studies of anisotropic tomography. Some researchers
(e.g. Wang & Zhao 2008, 2013) assumed that C = −M, thus the
vertical velocity is equal to the fast velocity in the horizontal plane,
that is, a horizontal hexagonal symmetry axis is assumed to exist
in the modeling space. Liu & Zhao (2016c) focused on azimuthal
anisotropy and so assumed that C = 0, thus the slowness in the
vertical direction is S0 in their study.
In this study, C is taken as an unknown parameter to be determined
by traveltime inversion. Eq. (1) can be rewritten as (e.g. Hearn 1996;
Barclay et al. 1998; Eberhart-Phillips & Henderson 2004; Wang &
Zhao 2008, 2013; Liu & Zhao 2016c):
S P = S0 + (Acos2φ + Bsin2φ) · sin2 i + C · cos2 i, (2)
where φ is the ray-path azimuth, A = −Mcos(2ψ) and B =

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−Msin(2ψ) are two azimuthal anisotropy parameters, and ψ is
the horizontal FVD (Fig. 3). Using eq. (2), P-wave traveltime Tj of
the jth ray segment with a length d can be expressed as

Figure 3. The coordinate system specifying a P-wave ray (the blue line) and Tj = d · S j
the orthorhombic anisotropy with three mutually orthogonal binary symme- = d[S0 j + (A j cos2φ j + B j sin2φ j ) · sin2 i j + C j · cos2 i j ], (3)
try axes (the red lines). Two binary symmetry axes are in the horizontal
symmetry plane a. The plane e is a vertical symmetry plane. The P-wave where Sj is the total P-wave slowness of the jth ray segment, S0j is the
ray is located in the vertical plane c. i is the ray incident angle, ψ represents isotropic P-wave slowness at the middle point of the ray segment,
the horizontal fast-velocity direction (FVD), φ is the ray path azimuth and i j and φ j are the incident angle and azimuth of the ray segment,
θ is the angle between the ray propagation vector in the plane a and the axis respectively, A j = −M j cos(2ψ j ) and B j = −M j sin(2ψ j ) are two
of the intersection of two mutually orthogonal symmetry planes a and e. azimuthal anisotropy parameters at the middle point, Mj and Cj
are parameters for anisotropy at the middle point, and ψ j is the
measured precisely by applying the multichannel cross-correlation horizontal FVD at the middle point which is defined as
technique (VanDecar & Crosson 1990) to high-quality seismo- ⎧ π
⎪   , Aj > 0
grams recorded at the Hi-net seismic stations (Fig. 2b) during 2004 ⎪
⎪ −1 B j
⎪ 1
⎨ 2 tan + 2
0, A j < 0 .
Aj
April–2014 December (for details, see Liu & Zhao 2016b). The
ψj = π (4)
P-wave relative traveltime residuals were measured from the ⎪ −
⎪ 4 , B > 0
⎪
⎪
j
, Aj = 0
vertical-component seismograms filtered in a frequency band of ⎩ π,B < 0
0.1–0.2 Hz. The teleseismic events used are all ≥ M 6.0, and their 4 j

epicentral distances are in a range of ∼30◦ –90◦ from central Japan By defining A P j =
Aj
, BP j =
Bj
and C P j =
Cj
, eq. (3) can be
S0 j S0 j S0 j
(Fig. 2d). Hypocentral parameters of the teleseismic events are ob- rewritten as
tained from the Bulletins of the International Seismological Center.
The azimuthal coverage of these events is very good in all direc- T j = d[1 + (A P j cos2φ j + B P j sin2φ j ) · sin2 i j
tions except for the Pacific Ocean, and most of the events occurred +C P j · cos2 i j ]/V0 j , (5)
in subduction zones (Fig. 2d).
where V0j is the isotropic Vp at the middle point of the jth ray
segment. Then, the amplitude α j of Vp azimuthal anisotropy at the
3 METHOD middle point can be expressed as
We modify the azimuthal anisotropy tomography method of Liu V h f j − V hs j Mj
αj = =

& Zhao (2016c) to invert the P-wave traveltime data for 3-D Vp 2V0 j S0 j − M 2j S0 j
azimuthal and radial anisotropies, as well as Vp isotropic tomog- 
raphy beneath the Japan Islands. Following Liu & Zhao (2016c), A P j 2 + BP j 2
= , (6)
we assume that the modeling space is a weakly anisotropic medium 1 − (A P j 2 + B P2 j )
where orthorhombic anisotropy with a vertical symmetry axis ex-
ists (Fig. 3). For a general P-wave with an incident angle i, P-wave where Vhfj and Vhsj are P-wave velocities in the horizontal fast and
slowness Sp can be simplified as (e.g. Eberhart-Phillips & Hender- slow directions at the middle point, respectively. We define β j to
son 2004; Wang & Zhao 2008, 2013; Koulakov et al. 2009; Liu & express Vp radial anisotropy at the middle point, which is written
Zhao 2016c): as
V h j − V vj
S P = S0 + (Mcos2θ ) · sin2 i + C · cos2 i, (1) βj =
2V0 j
where S0 is the isotropic P-wave slowness (i.e. the isotropic com- C P j − (A P j cos2φ j + B P j sin2φ j )
ponent), M is a parameter for azimuthal anisotropy, θ is the angle = , (7)
2(1 + A P j cos2φ j + B P j sin2φ j )(1 + C P j )
between the P-wave propagation vector in a horizontal symmetry
plane a and the axis of the intersection of two mutually orthogonal where V h j = S0 j ·(1+A P j cos2φ
1
j +B P j sin2φ j )
and V v j = S0 j ·(1+C
1
Pj )
are
symmetry planes a and e, and C defines the amount of anisotropy P-wave velocities in the horizontal and vertical directions at
in the vertical direction (i.e. radial anisotropy, Fig. 3). the middle point, respectively. The partial derivatives of P-wave
1414 X. Liu and D. Zhao

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Figure 4. Distributions of P-wave ray azimuths and incident angles at nine depths (10–400 km) beneath an area (38◦ ∼40◦ N, 139◦ ∼141◦ E) in NE Japan. The
P-wave ray segments at each depth are plotted in an equal area (Schmidt) stereonet at the lower hemisphere projection using the ray path azimuths and incident
angles. The rays with large incident angles (i.e. near-horizontal rays) are close to the edge of the stereonet, whereas the rays with smaller incident angles (i.e.
near-vertical rays) are close to the centre of the stereonet. Note that we equate the numbers of ray segments with azimuths of φ and φ + π in the stereonet
projections, because the effect of a P-wave ray segment with an azimuth of φ is the same as that of a ray segment with an azimuth of φ + π in the tomographic
inversion. The total number of ray segments at each depth is normalized. In each stereonet, the blue colour shows the areas with more ray hit counts, whereas
the yellow colour shows the areas with fewer rays. The blank areas in each stereonet have no rays. The scale for the frequency of rays in each stereonet is shown
at the bottom.
 Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1415

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Figure 5. Map views of isotropic Vp tomography and Vp azimuthal anisotropy obtained by a joint inversion for 3-D isotropic Vp and 3-D Vp azimuthal
and radial anisotropies (the VAR inversion). The layer depth is shown at the upper left corner of each map. The blue thick line shows the location of the
upper boundary of the subducting Pacific slab at each depth. The red and blue colours denote low and high isotropic velocities, respectively. The isotropic Vp
perturbation (in per cent) scale is shown in (a). The orientation and length of the short black bars represent the horizontal FVD and the azimuthal anisotropic
amplitude (α P ), respectively. The α P scale is shown in (d). The other labeling is the same as that in Fig. 1.

traveltime Tj with respect to the isotropic P-wave velocity (V0j ) and anisotropic parameters δ A P j , δ B P j and δC P j can be expressed as
the three anisotropic parameters (APj , BPj and CPj ) are
 ∂ Tj δV0 j
 
∂ Tj

r = V0 j + δ APj
∂ Tj ∂ V0 j V0 j ∂ APj
= −d[1 + (A P j cos2φ j + B P j sin2φ j ) · sin2 i j j

j

∂ V0 j  ∂ Tj  ∂ Tj
+ δ BP j + δC P j + E, (12)
+ C P j · cos2 i j ]/V0 j 2 , (8) ∂ BP j ∂C P j
j j

where E represents higher order terms of the perturbations, pick-

∂ Tj d ing errors of the P-wave traveltime data and uncertainties of the
= sin2 i j cos2φ j , (9)
∂ APj V0 j hypocentral parameters.
Two 3-D grids are set up in the modeling space. One grid is
for expressing the 3-D isotropic Vp whose perturbations from a
∂ Tj d starting 1-D velocity model at the grid nodes are taken as un-
= sin2 i j sin2φ j , (10)
∂ BP j V0 j known parameters. The starting 1-D velocity model (Fig. S1, Sup-
porting Information) is derived from the CRUST1.0 model (Laske
et al. 2013) and the IASP91 Earth model (Kennett & Engdahl
∂ Tj d
= cos2 i j . (11) 1991). In addition, the initial isotropic Vp of the subducting Pacific
∂C P j V0 j slab is assigned to be 2 per cent faster than the mantle isotropic
Vp at the same depth, according to the previous tomographic re-
For a well-located local earthquake (or a teleseismic event), the sults of the Japan subduction zone (e.g. Zhao et al. 1994, 2012;
observation equation relating observed local-earthquake P-wave Liu & Zhao 2016b,c). The other 3-D grid is for expressing the
traveltime residuals (or teleseismic P-wave relative traveltime resid- 3-D Vp anisotropic structure. Perturbations of the three anisotropic
δV
uals) r to the isotropic Vp perturbation V00jj and the perturbations of parameters (AP , BP and CP in eq. 12) at each grid node are also
1416 X. Liu and D. Zhao
f −V v
Figure 6. Map views of Vp radial anisotropy (β f = V h2V ) obtained by the VAR inversion, whose scale (in per cent) is shown in (a). V0 , Vhf and Vv are
0
isotropic Vp, the fastest Vp in the horizontal direction and Vp in the vertical direction, respectively. The blue colour shows Vhf > Vv, whereas the red colour
shows Vhf < Vv. The layer depth is shown at the upper left corner of each map. The other labeling is the same as that in Fig. 5.
taken as unknown parameters. The isotropic Vp perturbation at any
point in the modeling space is computed by linearly interpolating
its perturbations at the eight grid nodes surrounding that point.
This linear interpolation scheme is also adopted for computing per-
turbations of the three anisotropic parameters. An efficient 3-D
ray-tracing technique (Zhao et al. 1992) is used to compute the-
oretical traveltimes and ray paths. The depths of crustal layers in
the CRUST1.0 model (Laske et al. 2013) and station elevations
are taken into account in the 3-D ray tracing. The LSQR algorithm
(Paige & Saunders 1982) is used to solve the observation eq. (12).
Smoothing and damping regularizations are adopted to suppress
the dramatic short-scale variations of V0 , AP , BP and CP during the
tomographic inversion. The final tomographic results are obtained
after ten iterations. We relocate the local earthquakes using the
obtained 3-D anisotropic Vp model after each iteration. Note that
S-wave velocity heterogeneities and anisotropies are not considered
here, which may slightly affect the hypocentral locations of the lo-
cal events. Relative traveltime residuals of the teleseismic events
are also re-determined after each iteration. To minimize the effect
of uncertainty of the initial isotropic Vp model, the final isotropic
Vp perturbation at each grid node is calculated from the average
of the obtained isotropic Vp perturbations at each depth. After the
tomographic inversion, the FVD and amplitude of Vp azimuthal
anisotropy at each grid node are calculated from the obtained AP
and BP using eqs (4) and (6), respectively. The radial anisotropy at
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each grid node is calculated from the obtained AP , BP and CP using
eq. (7).
To obtain a robust result, we conducted many tomographic in-
versions to find the optimal values of the damping and smoothing
parameters and the number of iterations. The optimal values of these
parameters are shown in Table S1 in the Supporting Information.
The final root-mean-square (rms) traveltime residual obtained by the
joint inversion for Vp azimuthal and radial anisotropies and isotropic
Vp tomography is smaller than those obtained by the separate tomo-
graphic inversions for isotropic Vp, Vp azimuthal anisotropy and Vp
radial anisotropy (Table S1, Supporting Information). To evaluate
whether the reductions of the rms residual are statistically signifi-
cant or not, we conducted F-test (Draper & Smith 1966) following
the approach of Zhao et al. (1994, 2012). The test results indicate
that the rms residual reductions are indeed statistically significant.
4 A N A LY S I S A N D R E S U LT S
Fig. S2 in the Supporting Information shows ray density distribu-
tions of the P-wave data at different depths. The azimuthal distri-
bution of the ray paths in each 2◦ × 2◦ square represented by a rose
diagram is also shown in Fig. S2 in the Supporting Information,
indicating that the rays crisscross very well in and around the Japan
Islands. To obtain a robust model of azimuthal anisotropy tomog-
raphy, good azimuthal coverage of rays is necessary, whereas radial

v
Figure 7. Map views of Vp radial anisotropy (βs = V hs−V 2V0 ) obtained by the VAR inversion, whose scale (in per cent) is shown in (a). V0 , Vhs and Vv are
isotropic Vp, the slowest Vp in the horizontal direction and Vp in the vertical direction, respectively. The blue colour denotes Vhs > Vv, whereas the red colour
denotes Vhs < Vv. The layer depth is shown at the upper left corner of each map. The other labeling is the same as that in Fig. 5.
anisotropy tomography requires good ray coverage in the incident
angle (e.g. Wang & Zhao 2010; Huang et al. 2015; Zhao et al.
2016). In this study for a joint inversion for both azimuthal and
radial anisotropies, good ray coverages in both azimuth and inci-
dent angle are necessary. Fig. 4 shows the azimuthal and incident-
angle coverages of P-wave rays at different depths beneath an area
(38◦ ∼40◦ N, 139◦ ∼141◦ E) in NE Japan, indicating that the good az-
imuthal coverage of rays extends down to ∼400 km depth, whereas
the good incident-angle coverage of rays extends down to a depth
of <200 km. The azimuthal and incident-angle coverages of rays at
different depths under the entire study region (Figs S3–S13, Sup-
porting Information) show that the ray paths crisscross well down
to ∼200 km depth for most of the study region in and around the
Japan Islands.
To further assess the adequacy of ray coverage and to evaluate
the spatial resolution of the tomographic images, we conducted
extensive checkerboard resolution tests (CRTs) and restoring res-
olution tests following the previous studies (e.g. Zhao et al. 1992;
Wang & Zhao 2008, 2013; Liu & Zhao 2016c). To perform a CRT
for the anisotropic tomography, we first assigned positive and neg-
ative isotropic Vp perturbations of 3 per cent to the 3-D grid nodes
in the first grid. We also assigned anomalies of ±0.02 to the two
azimuthal anisotropy parameters (AP and BP ) at the adjacent grid
nodes in the second grid, which represent horizontal FVDs of 22.5◦
and 112.5◦ with azimuthal anisotropic amplitudes of ∼3 per cent. In
addition, anomalies of ±0.03 are assigned to the radial anisotropy
Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1417
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parameter (CP ) at the adjacent grid nodes in the second grid. Then,
we calculated synthetic traveltimes for the checkerboard model
with the same numbers of seismic stations, events and ray paths
as those in the real data set, and then inverted the synthetic data
to see whether the input checkerboard model could be recovered
or not. The obtained CRT results (Figs S14–S19, Supporting In-
formation) indicate that our anisotropic tomography has a spatial
resolution of ∼30–100 km in the lateral direction and ∼10–50 km
in depth beneath most of the study region in and around the Japan
Islands.
For comparing the tomographic models obtained with the differ-
ent inversion methods, hereafter the joint inversion for Vp azimuthal
and radial anisotropies and isotropic Vp tomography is called the
VAR inversion for short. Using the same traveltime data set, the spa-
tial resolution of the VAR tomography (Figs S14–S19, Supporting
Information) is slightly lower than those of Vp azimuthal anisotropy
tomography obtained using the method of Liu & Zhao (2016c)
and Vp radial anisotropy tomography obtained with the method of
Wang & Zhao (2013) (Figs S20–S31, Supporting Information),
partly because there are more unknown parameters in the VAR
inversion.
Figs 5–10 show the optimal tomographic model obtained by our
VAR inversion. In this model, grid meshes are located at depths
of 10, 25, 40, 70 km and 100–700 km with a vertical grid interval
of 50 km, and the lateral grid interval is 0.33◦ (∼33 km) in the
first grid for expressing the 3-D isotropic Vp, whereas it is 1.0◦
1418 X. Liu and D. Zhao

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Figure 8. Vertical cross-sections of the isotropic Vp tomography along the profiles (blue lines) shown on the inset map. This 3-D isotropic Vp model is obtained
by conducting the VAR inversion. The red and blue colours denote low and high Vp perturbations, respectively, whose scale (in per cent) is shown at the upper
right corner. The surface topography and the land area (the black horizontal bar) along each profile are shown atop each cross-section. The red triangles denote
active arc volcanoes within a 20 km width of each profile. The background seismicity and low-frequency microearthquakes which occurred within a 20 km
width of each profile are shown in white and red circles, respectively. The curved black line shows the Moho discontinuity.
 Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1419

B D

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C E

f −V v
Figure 9. Vertical cross-sections of Vp radial anisotropy (β f = V h2V ) along the profiles (blue lines) shown on the inset map. This 3-D anisotropic Vp model
0
is obtained by conducting the VAR inversion. The blue colour shows Vhf > Vv, whereas the red colour shows Vhf < Vv. The other labeling is the same as that
in Fig. 8.
1420 X. Liu and D. Zhao

B D

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C E

v
Figure 10. Vertical cross-sections of Vp radial anisotropy (βs = V hs−V
2V0 ) along the profiles (blue lines) shown on the inset map. This 3-D anisotropic Vp
model is obtained by conducting the VAR inversion. The blue colour shows Vhs > Vv, whereas the red colour shows Vhs < Vv. The other labeling is the same
as that in Fig. 8.
 Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1421

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Figure 11. Map views of isotropic Vp images obtained by conducting (a)–(c) isotropic Vp tomography alone, (d)–(f) Vp azimuthal anisotropy tomography,
(g)–(i) Vp radial anisotropy tomography and (j)–(l) the VAR inversion (see the text for details). In these tomographic models, the lateral grid interval is 0.33◦
for the 3-D isotropic Vp, whereas it is 1.0◦ for the Vp anisotropy. The layer depth is shown at the upper left corner of each map. The other labeling is the same
as that in Fig. 5.

(∼100 km) in the second grid for expressing the Vp anisotropy. The Using our P-wave data set, we also determined isotropic Vp
tomographic results show that significant lateral heterogeneities and tomography applying the method of Zhao et al. (1994, 2012)
anisotropies exist in the crust and upper mantle beneath the study (Figs 11 and Figs S32 and S33, Supporting Information), Vp az-
region (Figs 5–10). imuthal anisotropy tomography applying the method of Liu & Zhao
1422 X. Liu and D. Zhao
Figure 12. Map views of isotropic Vp image and Vp azimuthal anisotropy obtained by conducting (a)–(c) Vp azimuthal anisotropy tomography and (d)–(f) the
VAR inversion (see the text for details). In the two tomographic models, the lateral grid interval is 0.33◦ for the 3-D isotropic Vp, whereas it is 1.0◦ for the Vp
anisotropy. The layer depth is shown at the upper left corner of each map. The other labeling is the same as that in Fig. 5.
(2016c) (Figs 11 and 12, and Figs S34 and S35, Supporting Informa-
tion) and Vp radial anisotropy tomography applying the method of
Wang & Zhao (2013) (Figs 11 and 13, Figs S36–S41, Supporting
Information). The isotropic Vp images obtained with the different
methods are similar to each other for most of the study region
(Fig. 11). The Vp azimuthal anisotropy obtained by the VAR inver-
sion is very similar to that obtained with the method of Liu & Zhao
(2016c) (Figs 12 and 14).There are some differences in the images of
Vp radial anisotropy obtained by the VAR inversion and the method
of Wang & Zhao (2013) (Fig. 13), which may be mainly caused
by the different assumptions of anisotropy adopted in the two ap-
proaches, that is, hexagonal symmetry is assumed in Wang & Zhao
(2013), whereas orthorhombic anisotropy is assumed in our VAR
inversion.
To confirm the obtained tomographic results (Figs 5–10 and
Figs S42–S45, Supporting Information), we conducted a VAR in-
version with a different lateral grid interval. Figs S46–S49 in the
Supporting Information show the obtained results with a lateral
grid interval of 0.33◦ for both the isotropic Vp tomography and the
Vp anisotropy, which are similar to the optimal tomographic re-
sults (Figs S42–S45, Supporting Information). In addition, we also
conducted a VAR inversion using a starting Vp model that is a ho-
mogeneous 1-D isotropic model and does not include the high-Vp
subducting Pacific slab. The obtained results (Figs S50–S53, Sup-
porting Information) are similar to those shown in Figs S46–S49
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in the Supporting Information, except for the subducting Pacific
slab. We also conducted a VAR inversion with a lateral grid interval
of 0.33◦ for expressing the isotropic Vp tomography and 0.5◦ for
the Vp anisotropy. The obtained results (Figs S54–S57, Support-
ing Information) are also similar to the optimal tomographic model
(Figs S42–S45, Supporting Information).
5 DISCUSSION
As the best-studied subduction zone in the world, the 3-D seis-
mic structure and anisotropy beneath Japan have been investigated
by a great number of researchers (e.g. Hirahara & Ishikawa 1984;
Zhao et al. 1992, 2012; Ishise & Oda 2005; Nakajima et al. 2006;
Wang & Zhao 2005, 2013; Xia et al. 2007, 2008; Yoshizawa et al.
2010; Huang et al. 2011c, 2013, 2015; Cheng et al. 2011; Tong et al.
2012; Hasegawa et al. 2013; Tian & Liu 2013; Liu et al. 2013, 2014;
Asamori & Zhao 2015; Koulakov et al. 2015; Wei et al. 2015; Kita
& Matsubara 2016; Niu et al. 2016; Liu & Zhao 2015, 2016c; Wang
et al. 2017a,b,c; Zhao et al. 2017). These studies revealed clearly
the subducting Pacific and PHS slabs which exhibit high-velocity
(high-V), high-Q (low attenuation), low Poisson’s ratio and trench-
parallel FVDs which may reflect fossil fabrics in the slabs (e.g.
Zhao 2015; Zhao et al. 2016). Note that not all the subducting slabs
exhibit trench-parallel FVDs. For example, trench-normal FVDs

Figure 13. Map views of Vp radial anisotropy (β0 = V0 V−V v ) obtained by conducting (a)–(c) Vp radial anisotropy tomography and (d)–(f) the VAR inversion
0
(see the text for details). V0 is isotropic Vp; Vv is Vp in the vertical direction. In the two tomographic models, the lateral grid interval is 0.33◦ for the 3-D
◦
isotropic Vp, whereas it is 1.0 for the Vp anisotropy. The layer depth is shown at the upper left corner of each map. The other labeling is the same as that in
Fig. 5.
have been revealed in the subducting Cocos slab beneath Costa
Rica (Rabbel et al. 2011) and in the subducting Pacific slab beneath
Alaska (Tian & Zhao 2012). In addition, significant low-velocity
(low-V), low-Q (high attenuation), high Poisson’s ratio and trench-
normal FVDs are revealed in the mantle wedge beneath the volcanic
front and backarc areas in Japan, which may be related to slab de-
hydration, corner flow, arc magmatism and earthquake generation
(e.g. Hasegawa et al. 2013; Zhao 2015). These features are well
recovered by our present results (Figs 5 and 8), which have been
confirmed by our extensive resolution tests (Figs S14–S57, Sup-
porting Information). Most of these features have been discussed
thoroughly in the previous studies. In the following, we focus our
discussion on the processes occurring in the mantle wedge, and we
attempt to relate our new anisotropic results to the flow pattern and
olivine fabrics in the mantle wedge of the Japan subduction zone.
Seismic anisotropy in the mantle wedge is not only related to
mantle flow driven by the plate subduction, but also caused by dif-
ferent types of olivine fabrics due to the variation in water content,
stress and temperature in the mantle wedge (e.g. Jung & Karato
2001; Kneller et al. 2005, 2008; Jung et al. 2006; Karato et al.
2008). Each olivine fabric has its own dominant slip system charac-
terized by slip direction b and slip plane normal (n), such as A-type
fabric corresponding to the [100](010) slip system, B-type fabric
corresponding to the [001](010) slip system and the [001](100),
Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1423
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[100]{0kl}, [100](001) slip systems for C-, D-, E-type fabrics, re-
spectively (Karato et al. 2008). According to the simple relation
between the dominant slip system and flow geometry, the slip direc-
tion is parallel to the macroscopic flow direction and the slip plane is
parallel to the macroscopic flow plane (Karato et al. 2008). In such a
case, for horizontal mantle flow with a horizontal flow direction and
a horizontal flow plane, the flow-induced seismic anisotropy should
be characteristic of Vhf > Vhs > Vv and b-parallel horizontal FVD
for A-type fabric, Vhf > Vhs > Vv and b-normal horizontal FVD
for B-type fabric, Vv > Vhf > Vhs and b-parallel horizontal FVD
for C-type fabric, and Vhf > Vv > Vhs and b-parallel horizontal
FVD for E-type fabric (Fig. 15), where Vv is Vp in the vertical di-
rection, whereas Vhf and Vhs are P-wave velocities in the fast and
slow directions in a horizontal plane. In addition, for vertical mantle
flow with a vertical flow direction and a vertical flow plane, its Vp
anisotropy should be Vv > Vhf > Vhs and n-normal horizontal FVD
for A-type fabric, Vhf > Vv > Vhs and n-normal horizontal FVD for
B-type fabric, Vhf > Vv > Vhs and n-parallel horizontal FVD for
C-type fabric, and Vv > Vhf > Vhs and n-parallel horizontal FVD
for E-type fabric (Fig. 15). Such a simple feature could not be well
identified for D-type fabric due to its complex dominant slip system.
Hence, in this study, we ignore D-type fabric which only develops in
some localized areas where high-stress deformation occurs (Karato
et al. 2008).
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Figure 14. Map views of isotropic Vp image and Vp azimuthal anisotropy along three slices shown in the sketch beside (c). The 3-D anisotropic Vp model
shown in (a)–(c) was obtained by a joint inversion of P- and S-wave traveltime data of both local and teleseismic events, with a lateral grid interval of 0.33◦ for
both the isotropic Vp tomography and Vp azimuthal anisotropy (Liu & Zhao 2016c). The 3-D anisotropic Vp model shown in (d)–(f) is obtained by conducting
the VAR inversion (see the text for details). (a) and (d) show the images in a plane located at the middle between the Moho discontinuity and the upper boundary
of the subducting Pacific slab (UBPS). (b) and (e) show the images in a plane located 50 km below the UBPS, whereas (c) and (f) show the images in a plane
located 200 km below the UBPS. The white lines to the east of the Japan Trench denote isochrones of the Pacific Ocean floor (Müller et al. 2008) which are
parallel to the palaeomagnetic lineaments in the Pacific plate. The white arrows in each map show the moving direction of the Pacific plate relative to NE Japan
(Kreemer et al. 2003). The purple dashed lines in each map denote the depth contours of the UBPS. The other labeling is the same as that in Fig. 5.

Shear wave splitting measurements are often used to constrain
the flow pattern and olivine fabrics in the mantle wedge (e.g.
Long & Wirth 2013; Nagaya et al. 2016; Lynner et al. 2017), but
their depth resolution is poor. Azimuthal anisotropy tomography can
only constrain the relation between Vhf and Vhs in the 3-D mod-
eling space, whereas radial anisotropy tomography can only reveal
the relation between Vh and Vv (e.g. Yoshizawa et al. 2010; Wang
& Zhao 2013; Zhao et al. 2016; Wang et al. 2017a). In contrast,
our present VAR tomography is able to clarify a complete relation
among Vhf, Vhs and Vv. Hence, we can better constrain the flow
pattern and olivine fabrics in the mantle wedge using our new VAR
tomography and the simple relations as shown in Fig. 15.
Fig. 16 shows our VAR tomography along a slice in the
middle of the mantle wedge beneath NE Japan where the
old Pacific plate is subducting beneath the Okhotsk plate.
Fig. 16(a) shows the isotropic Vp image and Vp azimuthal
anisotropy. Beneath the volcanic front and backarc areas, the
mantle wedge mainly exhibits low-V and trench-normal FVDs,
whereas high-V anomalies and trench-parallel FVDs exist in the
forearc mantle wedge (Fig. 16a). The boundary of the two different
domains is generally located above the 65 km depth contour of the
upper interface of the Pacific slab (Fig. 16). Hereafter, this boundary
in the mantle wedge is called the critical boundary for short.
Figs 16(b) and (c) show images of Vp radial anisotropy, which are
f −V v v
expressed as β f = V h2V 0
and βs = V hs−V
2V0
, respectively. Beneath
the arc and backarc areas, the mantle wedge generally exhibits an
anisotropy of Vhf > Vhs > Vv or Vhf > Vv > Vhs, whereas an
anisotropy of Vhf > Vv > Vhs dominates in the forearc mantle
wedge (Figs 16b and c). In addition, a distinct feature Vv > Vhf
> Vhs exists near the critical boundary in the mantle wedge under
NE Japan (Figs 16b and c). These anisotropic features (Figs 16a–c)
have been confirmed by our extensive resolution tests (Figs S58–
S72, Supporting Information).
We assume that simple corner flow exists in the mantle wedge
above the Pacific slab (see Fig. 16e). In other words, we assume that
horizontal mantle flow with a horizontal flow plane and horizontal
FVD-parallel flow directions exists in the mantle wedge beneath
the arc and backarc areas (i.e. above and below the green line in
Fig. 16e). In contrast, vertical flow in a vertical plane parallel to the
trench is assumed to exist in the mantle wedge beneath the forearc
area (i.e. above and below the blue line in Fig. 16e). Under such
assumptions and adopting the simple relations shown in Fig. 15,
we estimate the distribution of olivine fabrics in the mantle wedge
beneath NE Japan (Fig. 16d), which shows that E-type fabric dom-
inates in the arc and backarc mantle wedge, except for some local
areas where A-type fabric is dominant. By contrast, B-type fabric
dominates in the forearc mantle wedge under NE Japan (Fig. 16d).
In the same way, we also estimate the distribution of olivine fab-
rics in the mantle wedge beneath Hokkaido using our Vp anisotropic
results (Figs 17a–c) which are confirmed by our detailed resolution
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Figure 15. Schematic diagrams illustrating different olivine fabrics, the associated dominant slip systems and the related seismic anisotropy corresponding to
two types of flow geometries. HFVD, the horizontal fast velocity direction. See the text for details.

tests (Figs S73–S87, Supporting Information). The obtained result
(Fig. 17d) shows that E-type fabric also dominates in the mantle
wedge beneath the arc and backarc, except for a few small areas,
where A- and C-type fabrics exist. The same as Tohoku, B-type
fabric dominates in the forearc mantle wedge beneath Hokkaido
(Fig. 17d).
Fig. 18 shows our VAR tomography along a slice in the mid-
dle of the mantle wedge under SW Japan, where the young PHS
plate is subducting beneath the Eurasian plate at the Nankai Trough
and the Ryukyu Trench. The mantle wedge mainly exhibits low-
V and trench-normal horizontal FVDs (Fig. 18a). Different from
NE Japan, no obvious horizontal trench-parallel FVDs exist in the
1426 X. Liu and D. Zhao

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f −V v v
Figure 16. Map views of (a) isotropic Vp tomography and Vp azimuthal anisotropy, (b) and (c) Vp radial anisotropy (β f = V h2V and βs = V hs−V
2V0 ) and
0
(d) the distribution of olivine fabrics, in a plane in the central mantle wedge beneath NE Japan as shown in (e). The plane (shown in green and blue lines in
(e)) is located at the middle between the Moho discontinuity and the upper boundary of the subducting Pacific slab (UBPS). The red dashed lines in (e) denote
a simple corner-flow pattern assumed in this study. This 3-D anisotropic Vp model is obtained by conducting the VAR inversion (see the text for details). The
scales for panels (a)–(d) are shown at the lower right corner. The other labeling is the same as that in Fig. 14.

forearc mantle wedge, except for some local areas (Fig. 18a). Be-
neath Kyushu, the mantle wedge generally exhibits an anisotropy of
Vhf > Vhs > Vv or Vhf > Vv > Vhs, whereas an anisotropy of Vv >
Vhf > Vhs dominates in the mantle wedge beneath western Honshu
(Figs 18b and c). These tomographic results (Figs 18a–c) are con-
firmed by our extensive resolution tests (Figs S88–S102, Supporting
Information). Similar to that in NE Japan, we also assume that sim-
ple corner flow exists in the mantle wedge above the subducting
PHS slab as shown in Fig. 18(e). The critical boundary between the
horizontal FVD-parallel flow and the vertical trench-parallel flow
is set to be above the 50 km depth contour of the upper interface
of the PHS slab (Fig. 18). Then, we estimate the distribution of the
olivine fabrics in the mantle wedge above the PHS slab under SW
Japan, using the relations shown in Fig. 15. Under Kyushu, E-type
fabric dominates in the mantle wedge beneath the arc and backarc,
besides A-type fabric in some local areas, whereas C-type fabric
develops in the forearc mantle wedge (Fig. 18d). Beneath western
Honshu, C-type fabric dominates in the mantle wedge under the arc
and backarc, whereas different fabrics develop in the forearc mantle
wedge (Fig. 18d).
Note that the estimated olivine fabric distribution in the mantle
wedge depends on the flow pattern assumed. In this study, we adopt
a simple flow pattern in the mantle wedge (Fig. 16e). In fact, the flow
pattern should be complex, and even for simple 2-D corner flow,
the distribution of finite strain ellipses may be substantially more
complicated than the simple configuration used in this study (e.g.
Hall et al. 2000; Long et al. 2007; Honda 2011; Wirth & Korenaga
2012). Further detailed anisotropic studies may address a complex
flow pattern, such as the inclined flow in the mantle wedge which
may result in an olivine fabric with an inclined slip direction and
slip plane. To constrain the olivine fabric, we prefer using the simple
relations of Vhf, Vhs and Vv as shown in Fig. 15 to adopting the
absolute amplitudes of anisotropic Vp, because the amplitude of the
obtained velocity anomalies strongly depends on the damping and
smoothing parameters adopted in the tomographic inversion. The
pattern of the tomographic images obtained in this work is much
more robust than the absolute amplitudes of velocity anomalies.
In addition, for simplicity, we only attribute the Vp anisotropy in
the mantle wedge to different olivine fabrics with the assumed
flow pattern, because olivine is the major anisotropic mineral in the
upper mantle. Note that, besides olivine, other anisotropic minerals,
such as serpentine and antigorite, should also contribute to the
seismic anisotropy in the mantle wedge (e.g. Katayama et al. 2009;
Brownlee et al. 2013). With our present tomographic results, we
cannot estimate the olivine fabrics in the subducting Pacific and
PHS slabs formed at the mid-ocean ridges, because the slab fossil

Figure 17. The same as Fig. 16 but for the images beneath Hokkaido.
fabric may be overprinted by subduction-related structures, such
as plate bending leading to an olivine fabric with an inclined slip
plane, normal faults produced at the outer rise area near the trench
axis (e.g. Faccenda et al. 2008) and the slab internal deformation,
etc. (e.g. Eakin et al. 2016).
Our present results (Figs 16–18) suggest that, when assuming
vertical trench-parallel flow in the forearc mantle wedge, B-type
olivine fabric seems to dominate in the forearc mantle wedge only
beneath NE Japan where the old and cold Pacific slab is subducting.
Such a feature is consistent with a mineral physics result that B-type
fabric develops only at low temperatures, whereas subduction of a
young and hence warm lithosphere, such as the PHS slab under SW
Japan, would not cause B-type fabric to a large extent (Karato et al.
2008). Recent attenuation tomography has revealed obvious high-Q
and low-Q anomalies in the forearc mantle wedge under NE Japan
and SW Japan, respectively (e.g. Liu et al. 2014; Liu & Zhao 2015;
Wang et al. 2017b,c). In addition, non-volcanic deep low-frequency
earthquakes occur actively below the forearc mantle wedge under
SW Japan (Fig. 18), whereas none of them has been detected under
NE Japan, though a so-called water wall may exist in the forearc
mantle wedge under NE Japan (Zhao et al. 2015). All these features
indicate that the forearc mantle wedge in NE Japan is much cooler
than that in SW Japan.
Our present results (Figs 16–18) also suggest that, if horizontal
FVD-parallel flow exists in the mantle wedge under the arc and
backarc, then E-type olivine fabric may dominate in the arc and
backarc mantle wedge beneath Japan, except for western Honshu
Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1427
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where obvious C-type olivine fabric exists. When water content
increases at high temperatures and at low stresses, A-type olivine
fabric first changes to E-type and then to C-type and the A- to
E-type fabric boundary, as well as the E- to C-type fabric boundary,
are sensitive to water content (Karato et al. 2008). The E-type
dominant fabric in the arc and backarc mantle wedge beneath Japan
may reflect a hydrated mantle wedge due to the slab dehydration
and corner flow (e.g. Zhao 2015). In addition, the C-type dominant
fabric in the arc and backarc mantle wedge beneath western Honshu
may reflect a high water content there, because both the PHS and
Pacific slabs exist there and so more fluids can be released from
the two slabs to the overlying mantle wedge (e.g. Asamori & Zhao
2015; Liu & Zhao 2016b).
6 C O N C LU S I O N S
To clarify seismic anisotropy, flow pattern and olivine fabrics in the
mantle wedge, we conduct a joint inversion for 3-D Vp azimuthal
and radial anisotropies, as well as isotropic Vp tomography, in the
crust and upper mantle of the Japan subduction zone using a large
number of high-quality P-wave traveltime data of local earthquakes
and teleseismic events. Main findings of this work are summarized
as follows.
(1) An anisotropic feature with horizontal trench-parallel FVDs
and Vhf > Vv > Vhs is revealed in the forearc mantle wedge above
the Pacific slab under NE Japan, which may indicate B-type olivine
1428 X. Liu and D. Zhao

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Figure 18. The same as Fig. 16 but for the images beneath SW Japan. The red dots denote low-frequency earthquakes. UBPHS, the upper boundary of the
subducting Philippine Sea slab.

fabric with vertical trench-parallel flow existing there. Such a feature AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S

is not obvious in the forearc mantle wedge above the PHS slab under
We thank the data centres of the Japanese seismic networks and
SW Japan, probably due to the higher temperature and more fluids
the JMA Unified Earthquake Catalog (www.hinet.bosai.go.jp) for
there associated with the young and warm PHS slab subduction.
providing the high-quality waveform and arrival-time data used in
(2) The mantle wedge beneath the arc and backarc in Japan
this study. Some of the arrival-time data were measured from the
generally exhibits horizontal trench-normal FVDs and Vhf > Vv
original seismograms by the staffs of Research Center for Predic-
> Vhs, which may indicate E-type olivine fabric with horizontal
tion of Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions, Tohoku University.
FVD-parallel flow there.
The free software GMT (Wessel & Smith 1998) is used for plot-
(3) The mantle wedge beneath western Honshu exhibits an
ting the figures. We appreciate the helpful discussions with Drs J.
anisotropy of Vv > Vhf > Vhs, where C-type olivine fabric may
Wang, Z. Huang, X. Wang and Y. Hua. We are very grateful to Prof
dominate. This result may suggest that the water content is the
M. Ritzwoller (the editor), Prof I. Koulakov and an anonymous re-
highest there, because both the PHS and Pacific slabs exist there
viewer who provided thoughtful review comments and suggestions
and their dehydration reactions release abundant fluids to the over-
which have improved this paper. This work was supported by grants
lying mantle wedge.
from the JSPS (Kiban-S 23224012) and the MEXT (26106005)

to D. Zhao, as well as grants from the Chinese NSFC (41602207,
41190072 and 41325009) to X. Liu.
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S U P P O RT I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
Supplementary data are available at GJI online.
Table S1 shows values of some parameters and other related infor-
mation on the tomographic inversions.
Figure S1 shows the 1-D Vp model used in this study.
Figures S2–S13 show the coverages of P-wave rays in our data set.
Figures S14–S31 show the results of checkerboard resolution tests
(CRTs) we performed.

Figures S32–S57 show the tomographic models obtained by using
different parametrization strategies and inversion methods.
Figures S58–S72 show the obtained tomographic images and re-
lated synthetic test results in a plane located in the central mantle
wedge beneath NE Japan.
Figures S73–S87 show obtained tomographic images and related
synthetic test results in a plane located in the central mantle wedge
beneath Hokkaido.
Anisotropic tomography beneath Japan 1431
Figures S88–S102 show obtained tomographic images and related
synthetic test results in a plane located in the central mantle wedge
beneath SW Japan.
Please note: Oxford University Press is not responsible for the con-
tent or functionality of any supporting materials supplied by the
authors. Any queries (other than missing material) should be di-
rected to the corresponding author for the paper.
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