Seismic anisotropy above a subducting plate

Shear-wave splitting observed in northeastern Colombia has provided evidence of seismic anisotropy in a shear zone immediately above a subducting plate. In an upper mantle composed mainly of olivine (57%) and orthopyroxene (17%), the splitting can be interpreted by wave propagation in an anisotropic medium of orthorhombic symmetry that results from alignment of these intrinsically anisotropic minerals. The mechanism of alignment is most likely the shearing associated with the subduction, aided by fluids migrating from the subducting plate when the plate exceeds 100 km in depth.