Crustal and upper mantle structure of the Mediterranean area derived from surface-wave data

A summary of results based mainly on the inversion of available surface-wave dispersion data is given for the Mediterranean area both for crustal and upper mantle structure. The results are presented on maps outlining the regionalization of the crust and the lithosphere-asthenosphere system in the area. It is possible to distinguish several types of crust with average S-wave velocities in the range 2.8–3.8 km s^?1 and thickness varying from a minimum of about 10–16 km, in the Western Mediterranean, to a maximum of about 50 km (including a possible transitional layer) beneath the Ionian Sea. The average properties of the crust and of the lithospheric part of the mantle indicate a possible continuous structure extending from North Africa through the Ionian Sea to the Adriatic Sea, characterized by the presence of a transitional layer at the crust-mantle boundary. Strong lateral variations are present in the lithosphere-asthenosphere system both in thickness, from 30 km in the Western Mediterranean, to about 130 km, under the Alps, and in S-wave velocity, from 4.1–4.2 km s^?1 up to 4.7 km s^?1. The relatively high position of low resistivity material that seems to characterize the Mediterranean area agrees fairly well with the shallower average top of the asthenosphere found in this area from the study of the elastic properties. The usefulness of combining seismological and electromagnetic studies is stressed.