Phase velocities of Rayleigh waves in southeastern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Summary Measurements of phase velocities along several paths in southeastern Europe and along one path in the Eastern Mediterranean have been made in the period range 15 to 60 sec for the fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves. The data are fitted by layered models of the crust and upper mantle. The crust in the Balkan peninsula is thicker than the normal continental crust by about 10 km while the crust in the northern Aegean Sea has the normal continental thickness. The existence of a low shear velocity layer of thickness equal to 140 km with its top in a depth of 90 km interpretes the data well for the longer periods. The data for the eastern Mediterranean show that this region has an oceanic character. The mean crustal thickness in this area is of the order of 20 km.