海拉尔CTBTO地震台阵下方小尺度非均匀体研究

利用国际禁核组织在海拉尔布设的小孔径地震台阵的16个深远地震波资料,分离出了P波波场中不相干的尾波.频率域中对波场扰动的研究表明,在0.5～3.0 Hz的频率范围内,观测到的波场扰动可以利用P波在随机介质中的散射进行解释.不同远震事件得到的稳定结果表明,在该台阵下方34 km厚的地壳和110 km厚的岩石层中可能存在相关长度为2.0～7.4 km的散射体.     

The crust-mantle transition and the Moho beneath the Vogtland/West Bohemian region in the light of different seismic methods

The structure of the crust and the crust-mantle boundary in the Vogtland/West Bohemian region have been a target of several seismic measurements for the last 25 years, beginning with the steep-angle reflection seismic studies (DEKORP-4/KTB, MVE-90, 9HR), the refraction and wide-angle experiments (GRANU’95, CELEBRATION 2000, SUDETES 2003), and followed by passive seismic studies (receiver functions, teleseismic tomography). The steep-angle reflection studies imaged a highly reflective lower crust (4 to 6 km thick) with the Moho interpreted in a depth between 30 and 32 km and a thinner crust beneath the Eger Rift. The refraction and wide-angle reflection seismic studies (CELEBRATION 2000) revealed strong wide-angle reflections in a depth of 26–28 km interpreted as the top of the lower crust. Long coda of these reflections indicates strong reflectivity in the lower crustal layer, a phenomenon frequently observed in the Caledonian and Variscan areas. The receiver function studies detected one strong conversion from the base of the crust interpreted as the Moho discontinuity at a depth between 27 and 37 km (average at about 31 km). The discrepancies in the Moho depth determination could be partly attributed to different background of the methods and their resolution, but could not fully explain them. So that new receivers function modelling was provided. It revealed that, instead of a first-order Moho discontinuity, the observations can be explained with a lower crustal layer or a crust-mantle transition zone with a maximum thickness of 5 km. The consequent synthetic ray-tracing modelling resulted in the model with the top of the lower crust at 28 km, where highly reflective lower crustal layer can obscure the Moho reflection at a depth of 32–33 km.     

南极长城站地壳和上地幔各向异性分析

利用我国第24次和第25次南极科学考察队于2008年2月—2010年3月南极长城站记录到的地震事件数据进行剪切波分裂研究. 选取近震事件对Sg波进行剪切波分裂计算,结果表明快波偏振方向有两个,分别为北东向和近南北向; 慢波延迟时间的范围为1.45—5.17 ms/km,平均值为3.54 ms/km.同时选取长城站记录到的远震数据SKS波震相进行剪切波分裂计算,得出上地幔快波偏振方向优势取向为北东向, 慢波延迟时间平均值为1.60 s. 剪切波分裂结果显示长城站地区地壳和上地幔具有明显的各向异性, 并显示长城站地区地壳与上地幔快波偏振方向几乎平行,表明壳幔变形的一致关系.另外,地壳和上地幔各向异性的快波偏振方向不仅与长城站附近的海沟方向平行,同时也与绝对板块的运动方向平行.该结果进一步说明了绝对板块的运动是构成上地幔各向异性的主要原因.      

Comment on “Small-scale heterogeneities below the Lanzhou CTBTO seismic array,from seismic wave field fluctuations” by Shen and Ritter

A so-called teleseismic fluctuation wavefield method (TFWM) was adopted by Shen and Ritter to study small-scale heterogeneities beneath the Lanzhou array, a small-aperture seismic array locating in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau. Through this method, they speculated a correlation length of 2.4–8.2 km and a root-mean-squared (RMS) velocity perturbation of 1–3% for the crust under the array. However, for such a tectonically active and heavily deformed region where great earthquakes up to M7 occurred, such a low RMS velocity perturbation proposed seems to be unconvincing and conflicts with other studies. To confirm the suspicion, the acoustic finite difference method is used to model scattering wavefields in the random medium created through parameters suggested by Shen and Ritter. TFWM is applied to the synthetic data from both the small- and large-aperture arrays. For synthetic data from arrays with similar aperture as the Lanzhou array, it fails to reproduce the parabolic fit for real data, implying that the statistical parameters proposed by Shen and Ritter are incorrect. Another test presuming a correlation length of 2.4 km and a RMS velocity perturbation of 5% can reproduce the fit for real data. The numerical experiments prove that it is improper to apply TFWM to small-aperture arrays like the Lanzhou array, or else the heterogeneity will be heavily underestimated. The aperture of an array must be much larger than the correlation length and wavelength to get unbiased measurements.     

Crust and uppermost mantle structure of the Ailaoshan-Red River fault from receiver function analysis

S-wave velocity structure beneath the Ailaoshan-Red River fault was obtained from receiver functions by using teleseismic body wave records of broadband digital seismic stations. The average crustal thickness, Vp/Vs ratio and Poisson’s ratio were also estimated. The results indicate that the interface of crust and mantle beneath the Ailaoshan-Red River fault is not a sharp velocity discontinuity but a characteristic transition zone. The velocity increases relatively fast at the depth of Moho and then increases slowly in the uppermost mantle. The average crustal thickness across the fault is 36―37 km on the southwest side and 40―42 km on the northeast side, indicating that the fault cuts the crust. The relatively high Poisson’s ratio (0.26―0.28) of the crust implies a high content of mafic materials in the lower crust. Moreover, the lower crust with low velocity could be an ideal position for decoupling between the crust and upper mantle.     

上月壳中的散射引起月震尾波的数值模拟研究

在阿波罗月震记录中普遍存在着强烈持久的尾波信号,这样的波形特征无法用均匀分层月球模型解释.一个普遍被接受的解释是月震尾波由月球浅层结构对月震波的散射引起.我们采用基于交错网格的伪谱和有限差分混合方法模拟研究非均匀上月壳对月震波的散射效应,在此基础上解释月震尾波的形成机制,并估计出上月壳速度扰动的强度.我们发现,在均匀分层模型基础上,进一步考虑上月壳中的非均匀结构对月震波的散射效应,能有效地解释月震信号中强烈持久的尾波.我们认为月震尾波可能是由上月壳中的低波速、低衰减和散射这三个因素的共同作用所引起.采用不同的扰动标准差模拟上月壳的非均匀性,并比较模拟波形与真实月震图的相似程度,我们发现上月壳中速度扰动的标准差应该在3%到5%之间,很可能接近于3%.     

East-west crustal structure and “down-bowing” Moho under the northern Tibet revealed by wide-angle seismic profile

We recognized 6 sets of reflecting P- and S-wave events from Moho and other interfaces within the crust, respectively, with the wide-angle seismic data acquired from 510 km-long Selincuo-Ya’anduo profile in the northern Tibet, fitted the observed events with forward modeling, and interpreted crustal structure of P- and S-wave velocities and Poisson’s ratio under the profile. The results demonstrate that the crustal structure between Yarlungzangbo and Bangong-Nujiang sutures changes abruptly, and the crust is the thickest at the middle part of the profile with thickness of 80 km or more. The “down-bowing” Moho is the striking feature for the crustal variation along the west-east direction. The Moho uplifts with steps, and the uplifting rate westward is greater than that eastward. The heterogeneity of P- and S-wave velocities exists both vertically and horizontally, and one lower velocity layer (LVL) exists with the depth range of 27–34 km and the thickness range of 5–7 km. For the upper crust, Poisson’s ratio is the lowest at the middle part of the profile; for the lower crust, the Poisson’s ratio at the east segment is lower than that at west segment, which means that the crustal rigidity for the upper crust is different from the lower crust, and the lower crust under the east segment of the profile is more ductile. We infer that the substance in the lower crust endured eastward flow along with the collision between Eurasian and Indian plates, and the “down-bowing” Moho is attributable to the multi-phase E-W tectonic processes.     

Crustal structure of Northwest Zagros (Kermanshah) and Central Iran (Yazd and Isfahan) using teleseismic Ps converted phases

Receiver functions are widely employed to detect P-to-S converted waves and are especially useful to image seismic discontinuities in the crust. In this study we used the P receiver function technique to investigate the velocity structure of the crust beneath the Northwest Zagros and Central Iran and map out the lateral variation of the Moho boundary within this area. Our dataset includes teleseismic data (M _b ≥ 5.5, epicentral distance from 30° to 95°) recorded at 12 three-component short-period stations of Kermanshah, Isfahan and Yazd telemetry seismic networks. Our results obtained from P receiver functions indicate clear Ps conversions at the Moho boundary. The Moho depths were firstly estimated from the delay time of the Moho converted phase relative to the direct P wave beneath each network. Then, we used the P receiver function inversion to find the properties of the Moho discontinuity such as depth and velocity contrast. Our results obtained from PRF are in good agreement with those obtained from the P receiver function modeling. We found an average Moho depth of about 42 km beneath the Northwest Zagros increasing toward the Sanandaj-Sirjan Metamorphic Zone and reaches 51 km, where two crusts (Zagros and Central Iran) are assumed to be superposed. The Moho depth decreases toward the Urmieh-Dokhtar Cenozoic volcanic belt and reaches 43 km beneath this area. We found a relatively flat Moho beneath the Central Iran where, the average crustal thickness is about 42 km. Our P receiver function modeling revealed a shear wave velocity of 3.6 km/s in the crust of Northwest Zagros and Central Iran increasing to 4.5 km/s beneath the Moho boundary. The average shear wave velocity in the crust of UDMA as SSZ is 3.6 km/s, which reaches to 4.0 km/s while in SSZ increases to 4.3 km/s beneath the Moho.     

Crustal Structure of the Korean Peninsula Using Surface Wave Dispersion and Numerical Modeling

Surface wave dispersion is studied to obtain the 1-D average velocity structure of the crust in the Korean Peninsula by inverting group- and phase-velocities jointly. Group velocities of short-period Rayleigh and Love waves are obtained from cross-correlations of seismic noise. Multiple-filter analysis is used to extract the group velocities at periods between 0.5 and 20 s. Phase velocities of Rayleigh waves in 10- and 50-s periods are obtained by applying the two-station method to teleseismic data. Dispersion curves of all group and phase velocities are jointly inverted for the 1-D average model of the Korean Peninsula. The resultant model from surface wave analysis can be used as an initial model for numerical modeling of observations of North Korean events for a velocity model appropriated to the Korean Peninsula. The iterative process is focused especially on the surface sedimentary layer in the numerical modeling. The final model, modified by numerical modeling from the initial model, indicates that the crust shear wave velocity increases with depth from 2.16 km/s for a 2-km-thick surface sedimentary layer to 3.79 km/s at a Moho depth of 33 km, and the upper mantle has a velocity of 4.70 km/s.     

Inversion of travel times obtained during active seismic refraction experiments CELEBRATION 2000, ALP 2002 and SUDETES 2003

A series of kinematic inversions based on robust non-linear optimization approach were performed using travel time data from a series of seismic refraction experiments: CELEBRATION 2000, ALP 2002 and SUDETES 2003. These experiments were performed in Central Europe from 2000 to 2003. Data from 8 profiles (CEL09, CEL10, Alp01, S01, S02, S03, S04 and S05) were processed in this study. The goal of this work was to find seismic velocity models yielding travel times consistent with observed data. Optimum 2D inhomogeneous isotropic P-wave velocity models were computed. We have developed and used a specialized two-step inverse procedure. In the first “parametric” step, the velocity model contains interfaces whose shapes are defined by a number of parameters. The velocity along each interface is supposed to be constant but may be different along the upper and lower side of the interface. Linear vertical interpolation is used for points in between interfaces. All parameters are searched for using robust non-linear optimization (Differential Evolution algorithm). Rays are continuously traced by the bending technique. In the second “tomographic” step, small-scale velocity perturbations are introduced in a dense grid covering the currently obtained velocity model. Rays are fixed in this step. Final velocity models yield travel time residuals comparable to typical picking errors (RMS ∼ 0.1 s). As a result, depth-velocity cross-sections of P waves along all processed profiles are obtained. The depth range of the models is 35–50 km, the velocity varies in the range 3.5–8.2 km/s. Lowest velocities are detected in near-surface depth sections crossing sedimentary formations. The middle crust is generally more homogeneous and has typical P wave velocity around 6 km/s. Surprisingly the lower crust is less homogeneous and the computed velocity is in the range 6.5–7.5 km/s. The MOHO is detected in the depth ≈30–45 km.     

青藏高原东南缘及邻区地壳介质散射强度变化特征

基于远震扰动场方法,利用47个数字地震观测台记录的10次远震记录对青藏高原东南缘及邻区地壳介质散射强度进行了研究.结果表明研究区内地壳介质横向非均匀性强烈,扬子块体地壳介质散射强度与青藏块体存在较为明显的差异;地壳介质散射强度梯度带与主要断裂带分布趋势一致,龙门山断裂带、安宁河断裂带与地壳介质散射强度梯度带具有较强的相关性,散射强度高值区偏向青藏块体一侧;强震震中沿散射强度梯度带分布,其震中偏向散射强度高值区一侧;散射强度呈现纵向非均匀性特征,下地壳介质散射强度高于上地壳.研究区强、弱散射强度的空间分布可能与区内强烈的地质构造运动、频繁的地震及火山活动所引起深部物质破碎、熔融及其沿断裂带的上涌与运移有关.     

Crustal seismic structure and depth distribution of earthquakes in the Archean Kuusamo region,Fennoscandian Shield

Two-dimensional crustal velocity models are derived from passive seismic observations for the Archean Karelian bedrock of north-eastern Finland. In addition, an updated Moho depth map is constructed by integrating the results of this study with previous data sets. The structural models image a typical three-layer Archean crust, with thickness varying between 40 and 52 km. P wave velocities within the 12–20 km thick upper crust range from 6.1 to 6.4 km/s. The relatively high velocities are related to layered mafic intrusive and volcanic rocks. The middle crust is a fairly homogeneous layer associated with velocities of 6.5–6.8 km/s. The boundary between middle and lower crust is located at depths between 28 and 38 km. The thickness of the lower crust increases from 5–15 km in the Archean part to 15–22 km in the Archean–Proterozoic transition zone. In the lower crust and uppermost mantle, P wave velocities vary between 6.9–7.3 km/s and 7.9–8.2 km/s. The average V_p/V_s ratio increases from 1.71 in the upper crust to 1.76 in the lower crust.The crust attains its maximum thickness in the south-east, where the Archean crust is both over- and underthrust by the Proterozoic crust. A crustal depression bulging out from that zone to the N–NE towards Kuusamo is linked to a collision between major Archean blocks. Further north, crustal thickening under the Salla and Kittilä greenstone belts is tentatively associated with a NW–SE-oriented collision zone or major shear zone. Elevated Moho beneath the Pudasjärvi block is primarily explained with rift-related extension and crustal thinning at ∼2.4–2.1 Ga.The new crustal velocity models and synthetic waveform modelling are used to outline the thickness of the seismogenic layer beneath the temporary Kuusamo seismic network. Lack of seismic activity within the mafic high-velocity body in the uppermost 8 km of crust and relative abundance of mid-crustal, i.e., 14–30 km deep earthquakes are characteristic features of the Kuusamo seismicity. The upper limit of seismicity is attributed to the excess of strong mafic material in the uppermost crust. Comparison with the rheological profiles of the lithosphere, calculated at nearby locations, indicates that the base of the seismogenic layer correlates best with the onset of brittle to ductile transition at about 30 km depth.We found no evidence on microearthquake activity in the lower crust beneath the Archean Karelian craton. However, a data set of relatively well-constrained events extracted from the regional earthquake catalogue implies a deeper cut-off depth for earthquakes in the Norrbotten tectonic province of northern Sweden.     

Broadband frequency-dependent amplification of seismic waves across Bucharest, Romania

The determination of seismic amplitude amplification is a fundamental contribution to seismic hazard assessment. While often only high-frequency amplitude variations (>1 Hz) are taken into account, we analyse broadband waveforms from 0.14 to 8.6 Hz using a temporary network of 32 stations in and around the earthquake-prone city of Bucharest. Spectral amplitudes are calculated with an adaptive multiple-taper approach. Across our network (aperture 25 km × 25 km), we find a systematic northwest/southeast-oriented structural influence on teleseismic P-wave amplitudes from 0.14 to 0.86 Hz that can be explained by constructive interference in the dipping Cenozoic sedimentary layers. For higher frequencies (1.4–8.75 Hz), more local site effects prevail and can be correlated partly among neighbouring stations. The transition between systematic and localised amplitude variations occurs at about 1 Hz.     

Erratum to: Lithospheric structure of NW Iran from P and S receiver functions

We computed P and S receiver functions to investigate the lithospheric structure beneath the northwest Iran and compute the Vp/Vs ratio within the crust of this seismologically active area. Our results enabled us to map the lateral variations of the Moho as well as those of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) beneath this region. We selected data from teleseismic events (M_b > 5.5, epicentral distance between 30° and 95° for P receiver functions and M_b > 5.7, epicentral distance between 60° and 85° for S receiver functions) recorded from 1995 to 2008 at 8 three-component short-period stations of Tabriz Telemetry Seismic Network. Our results obtained from P receiver functions indicate clear conversions at the Moho boundary. The Moho depth was firstly estimated from the delay time of the Moho converted phase relative to the direct P wave. Then we used the H-Vp/Vs stacking algorithm of Zhu and Kanamori to estimate the crustal thickness and Vp/Vs ratio underneath the stations with clear Moho multiples. We found an average Moho depth of 48 km, which varies between 38.5 and 53 km. The Moho boundary showed a significant deepening towards east and north. This may reveal a crustal thickening towards northeast possibly due to the collision between the Central Iran and South Caspian plates. The obtained average Vp/Vs ratio was estimated to be 1.76, which varies between 1.73 and 1.82. The crustal structure was also determined by modeling of P receiver functions. We obtained a three-layered model for the crust beneath this area. The thickness of the layers is estimated to be 6–11, 18–35, and 38–53 km, respectively. The average of the shear wave velocity was calculated to be 3.4 km/s in the crust and reaches 4.3 km/s below the Moho discontinuity. The crustal thickness values obtained from P receiver functions are in good agreement with those derived by S receiver functions. In addition, clear conversions with negative polarity were observed at ~8.7 s in S receiver functions, which could be related to the conversion at the LAB. This may show a relatively thin continental lithosphere of about 85 km implying that the lithosphere was influenced by various geodynamical reworking processes in the past.     

郯庐断裂带中南段地壳介质散射强度

本研究运用远震扰动场方法,利用134个数字地震观测台记录的10次远震记录对郯庐断裂带中南段地壳介质散射强度进行研究.结果表明,研究区上、下地壳介质散射强度呈现强烈的横向非均匀性特征,上、下地壳介质散射强度空间分布特征基本一致,散射强度高值区主要分布在华北断块区及秦岭—大别褶皱系的东部地区,散射强度低值区主要分布在下扬子断块区,散射强度峰值区主要分布在六安、莒南、嘉山、烟台等地.地壳介质散射强度与构造块体具有较强的相关性,构造块体不同,地壳介质散射强度则存在一定的差异;沿郯庐断裂带地壳介质散射强度呈现分段性特征,可分为潍坊至临沂段、临沂至嘉山段以及嘉山至九江段三段;地震活动与地壳介质散射强度有较强的相关性,地震多发生在地壳介质散射强度梯度带上,郯庐断裂带的潍坊至临沂段、嘉山至九江段地壳介质散射强度梯度较大,此段中小地震活动较强,而临沂至嘉山段地壳介质散射强度梯度小,中小地震活动相对较弱.地壳介质散射强度与构造块体、断裂构造及地震活动之间的相关性,除反映了深部介质物性可能存在差异外,也可能与深部介质物理形态、物质运移以及深部应力应变环境的变化有关.     

Preliminary study of crust-upper mantle structure of the Tibetan Plateau by using broadband teleseismic body waveforms

As part of a joint Sino-U.S. research project to study the deep structure of the Tibetan Plateau, 11 broadband digital seismic recorders were deployed on the Plateau for one year of passive seismic recording. In this report we use teleseimic P waveforms to study the seismic velocity structure of crust and upper mantle under three stations by receiver function inversion. The receiver function is obtained by first rotating two horizontal components of seismic records into radial and tangential components and then deconvolving the vertical component from them. The receiver function depends only on the structure near the station because the source and path effects have been removed by the deconvolution. To suppress noise, receiver functions calculated from events clustered in a small range of back-azimuths and epicentral distances are stacked. Using a matrix formalism describing the propagation of elastic waves in laterally homogeneous stratified medium, a synthetic receiver function and differential receiver functions for the parameters in each layer can be calculated to establish a linearized inversion for one-dimensional velocity structure. Preliminary results of three stations, Wen-quan, Golmud and Xigatze (Coded as WNDO, TUNL and XIGA), located in central, northern and southern Plateau are given in this paper. The receiver functions of all three stations show clear P-S converted phases. The time delays of these converted phases relative to direct P arrivals are: WNDO 7.9s (for NE direction) and 8.3s (for SE direction), TUNL 8.2s, XIGA 9.0s. Such long time delays indicate the great thickness of crust under the Plateau. The differences between receiver function of these three station shows the tectonic difference between southern and north-central Plateau. The waveforms of the receiver functions for WNDO and TUNL are very simple, while the receiver function of XIGA has an additional midcrustal converted phase. The S wave velocity structures at these three stations are estimated from inversions of the receiver function. The crustal shear wave velocities at WNDO and TUNL are vertically homogeneous, with value between 3.5–3.6 km/s down to Moho. This value in the lower crust is lower than the normal value for the lower crust of continents, which is consistent with the observed strong Sn attenuation in this region. The velocity structure at XIGA shows a velocity discontinuity at depth of 20 km and high velocity value of 4.0 km/s in the midcrust between 20–30 km depth. Similar results are obtained from a DSS profile in southern Tibet. The velocity under XIGA decreases below a depth of 30 km, reaching the lowest value of 3.2 km/s between 50–55 km. depth. This may imply that the Indian crust underthrusts the low part of Tibetan crust in the southern Plateau, forming a “double crust”. The crustal thickness at each of these sites is: WNDO, 68 km; TUNL, 70 km; XI-GA, 80 km. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,14, Supp., 581–592, 1992.     

地震放大效应与地下地质结构——龙门山山前玉皇观区域观测数据分析

通过布置于龙门山断裂带中段、龙门山山前玉皇观区域的地震观测台站阵列接收地震数据,研究该区域的地震动放大效应和地下地质结构.观测阵列共10台宽频带地震仪,分布在玉皇观河口冲积扇区域.分别采用参考场址谱比法(RSSR)和HV谱比法(HVSR)计算64个高信噪比近震数据的振幅谱比函数,结果显示在玉皇观区域具有较明显的地震动放大效应,并且局部场址效应显著.以S06场址为例,建立近地表地震地质模型,通过SH波放大效应正演模拟研究该场址的地震动放大模式.RSSR与HVSR的结果表明,两者所计算的场址放大效应主频一致,但是HVSR的放大峰值却比RSSR的放大峰值大一倍左右,表明HVSR的结果可能包含了波场在近地表低速层之下传播路径的改造作用.另外,采用27个远震P波的接收函数计算了该区域地壳上地幔S波速度结构.接收函数研究结果显示玉皇观地区的莫霍面深度为44 km,沉积盖层、结晶地壳和上地幔的S波速度分别为2.5 km·s~(-1)、3.5 km·s~(-1)和4.5 km·s~(-1).观测阵列台站之间的接收函数反演结果一致性较好,说明本研究区域范围内地形地貌等近地表结构因素的相对变化对接收函数的影响不大.     

用接收函数方法研究青华地震台下方地壳厚度结构

利用小湾电站水库诱发地震台网之青华地震台记录到的93个远震地震事件,挑选其中效果较好的55个远震地震事件进行接收函数的计算,研究同一个台站下方地壳厚度随反方位角的变化情况。结果表明:①在青华地震台下方地壳平均厚度约为40.5 km;②不同方位的远震事件反映出台站下方不同方位的地壳厚度存在差异;③青华地震台下方地壳厚度存在由南向北逐渐增厚的特点,而东西向的横向变化不明显;④青华地震台反方位角在112°附近区域地壳厚度变化异常明显。     

Crustal thickness variation across the northeast Iran continental collision zone from teleseismic converted waves

For the first time, we present the variation of crust–mantle boundary beneath the northeast Iran continental collision zone which is genetically part of the Alpine–Himalayan orogeny and beneath Central Iran which is a less-deformed tectonic block. The boundary was imaged by stacking teleseismic P–S converted phases and shows a strong variation of Moho from 27.5 km under Central Iran to 55.5 km beneath the Binalud foreland basin. The thickest crust is not located beneath the high topography of the Kopeh Dagh and Binalud mountain ranges suggesting that these mountain ranges are not supported by a crustal root. The simple gravity modeling of the Bouguer anomaly supports this idea.     

S-wave crustal and upper mantle’s velocity structure in the eastern Tibetan Plateau — Deep environment of lower crustal flow

A teleseismic profile consisting of 26 stations was deployed along 30°N latitude in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. By use of the inversion of P-wave receiver function, the S-wave velocity structures at depth from surface to 80 km beneath the profile have been determined. The inversion results reveal that there is significant lateral variation of the crustal structure between the tectonic blocks on the profile. From Linzhi north of the eastern Himalayan Syntaxis, the crust is gradually thickened in NE direction; the crustal thickness reaches to the maximum value (∼72 km) at the Bangong-Nujiang suture, and then decreased to 65 km in the Qiangtang block, to 57–64 km in the Bayan Har block, and to 40–45 km in the Sichuan Basin. The eastern segment of the teleseismic profile (to the east of Batang) coincides geographically with the Zhubalong-Zizhong deep seismic sounding profile carried out in 2000, and the S-wave velocity structure determined from receiver functions is consistent with the P-wave velocity structure obtained by deep seismic sounding in respect of the depths of Moho and major crustal interfaces. In the Qiangtang and the Bayan Har blocks, the lower velocity layer is widespread in the lower crust (at depth of 30–60 km) along the profile, while there is a normal velocity distribution in lower crust in the Sichuan Basin. On an average, the crustal velocity ratio (Poisson ratio) in tectonic blocks on the profile is 1.73 (σ = 0.247) in the Lhasa block, 1.78 (σ = 0.269) in the Banggong-Nujiang suture, 1.80 (σ = 0.275) in the Qiangtang block, 1.86 (σ = 0.294) in the Bayan Har blocks, and 1.77 (σ = 0.265) in the Yangtze block, respectively. The Qiangtang and the Bayan Har blocks are characterized by lower S-wave velocity anomaly in lower crust, complicated Moho transition, and higher crustal Poisson ratio, indicating that there is a hot and weak medium in lower crust. These are considered as the deep environment of lower crustal flow in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Flowage of the ductile material in lower crust may be attributable to the variation of the gravitational potential energy in upper crust from higher on the plateau to lower off plateau. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 40334041 and 40774037) and the International Cooperation Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2003DF000011)