Receiver Function Analysis of the Mantle Transition Zone Beneath Cape Verde

Abstract

The Cape Verde Islands are a hotspot believed to be fed by a mantle plume that is stationary relative to the overlying plate. Characterization of the mantle transition zone underlying Cape Verde offers an opportunity for improving our understanding of hotspot formation and mantle dynamics. However, the region is seismically understudied and under-sampled, hence models have remained under-constrained. Seismic data recorded on noisy island stations are highly variable in quality. This study aims to shed light on the structure and formation of Cape Verde’s hotspot through a receiver function analysis of the mantle transition zone in the region. To this end, I test the applicability of a signal-filtering and receiver function-generating toolkit developed by Burky et al. (2021). My analysis yields evidence of depressed 410 km and 660 km discontinuities, in line with the work of Helffrich et al. (2010). This challenges previous findings of a thin transition zone beneath Cape Verde, calling for an alternate explanation of the thermal source of the island’s hotspot.