Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the crustal and uppermost mantle structure beneath Toba caldera, which is known as the location of one of the largest Cenozoic eruptions on Earth. The most recent event occurred 74 000 yr BP, and had a significant global impact on climate and the biosphere. In this study, we revise data on local seismicity in the Toba area recorded by a temporary PASSCAL network in 1995. We applied the newest version of the LOTOS-07 algorithm, which includes absolute source location, optimization of the starting 1-D velocity model, and iterative tomographic inversion for 3-D seismic P, S (or the V-P/V-S ratio) and source parameters. Special attention is paid to verification of the obtained results. Beneath the Toba caldera and other volcanoes of the arc, we observe relatively moderate (for volcanic areas) negative P- and S-velocity anomalies that reach 18 per cent in the uppermost layer, 10-12 per cent in the lower crust and about 7 per cent in the uppermost mantle. Much stronger contrasts are observed for the V-P/V-S ratio that is a possible indicator of dominant effect of melting in origin of seismic anomalies. At a depth of 5 km beneath active volcanoes, we observe small patterns (7-15 km size) with a high V-P/V-S ratio that might be an image of actual magmatic chambers filled with partially molten material feeding the volcanoes. In the mantle wedge, we observe a vertical anomaly with low P and S velocities and a high V-P/V-S ratio that link the cluster of events at 120-140 km depth with Toba caldera. This may be an image of ascending fluids and melts released from the subducted slab due to phase transitions. However, taking into account poor vertical resolution, these results should be interpreted with prudence. Although the results show clear signatures that are quite typical for volcanic areas (low velocity and high V-P/V-S ratio beneath volcanoes), we do not observe any specific features in seismic structure that could characterize Toba as a super volcano.