Far East Tomography Animation

The animation below (press the buttons below to play) shows an isosurface of 0.5% higher than average P wavespeed for the entire mantle volume below the Far East (Japan, eastern China). This isosurface approximately describes the Pacific plate subducted in the Kuriles, Japan and Izu-Bonin trenches. Two important observations can be made from this animation. First, in the upper mantle most of the plate material flattens on the upper-to-lower mantle transition. Second, there is a narrow conduit connecting the upper mantle plate material with a large volume in the lowermost mantle (the so-called "graveyard").