A 3-D Look Beneath the Mediterranean: How the Mantle Moves and What It Reveals

The Mediterranean is one of the most geologically complex regions on Earth. Colliding plates, subduction zones, volcanic activity, and mountain building have shaped it over millions of years. To understand what’s happening deep below the surface, we created the first 3-D model of the entire region that shows not only how fast seismic waves travel, but also the directions they prefer to move. This lets us "see" how mantle rocks flow and deform. Our model confirms large portions of sinking lithosphere, called slabs, and reveals where these slabs break, detach, or create “windows” in the mantle. These insights help reconstruct the Mediterranean’s geological history and show that the mantle is still actively moving today.

We can’t dig into the Earth, but we can use seismic waves, vibrations from earthquakes, to explore its interior. Waves change speed and direction as they pass through different rocks—similar to how light bends passing from air into water. In this study, we combined two types of seismic data: P-wave travel times – showing how fast waves move. Faster waves indicate cooler, denser rocks, like sinking slabs. Slower waves mark hotter or more deformed areas. SKS splitting intensity – revealing seismic anisotropy, which shows preferred wave directions. This tells us how crystals in mantle rocks are aligned, reflecting mantle flow. By combining these datasets in a single analysis, we created a clear and physically consistent 3-D image of the Mediterranean mantle.

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