Tomographie des Andes équatoriennes : évidence d'une continuité des Andes Centrales

Arrival times of P-waves of local and regionally recorded events are used to determine the one- and three-dimensional velocity structures of the crust and the upper mantle beneath the Ecuadorian Andes. The three-dimensional structure reveals two major features: (1) the average crustal velocity below the Interandean Depression is lower than the velocity found along the Cordilleras, and (2) beneath the Interandean Depression, the depth of the Moho increases. Unfortunately, we do not have enough firmly determined data to tell how deep the Moho plunges from its average 50 km depth elsewhere. This structure is similar to the one observed farther South in the Central Andes of Peru-Bolivia.