Abstract
Waveforms from the NORESS array were analyzed for 147 industrial explosions during the 1985 to 1988 period, along a profile running east from Oslo (NORESS) to Helsinki to Leningrad (OHL profile). The events were 250 to 1300 km from NORESS and had local magnitude in the range 2.0 to 3.5. Event locations and origin times constrained by the University of Helsinki's regional seismic network provide a reliable basis for travel-time estimation at NORESS. We also used data recorded by NORSAR in 1979 for three shots on the FENNOLORA north-south, long-range seismic profile, which were near the OHL profile. Analysis of mantle P-wave signals from the explosions showed that first arrivals could be traced continuously to a distance of 750 to 800 km, where there is a cutoff and shift of approximately 2.0 to 2.5 sec in the travel-time curve and an increase in average apparent velocity. Interpretation of the observed travel times and waveforms for this profile suggests a low-velocity zone from approximately 105 to 135 km depth. Combined analysis of the seismic data with a Bouguer gravity map indicates the presence in the upper mantle of a high-velocity, high-density body of linear extent approximately from 200 to 300 to 500 to 600 km east of the NORESS array. It is postulated that this body may represent the root of an ancient volcanic system, in which lighter, silicic constituents were depleted from the upper mantle during the eruptive phase.
