Pn velocity anisotropy in a continental upper mantle

Summary. Earlier interpretations of P _n travel-times from the extensive quarry-blast observation scheme in western Germany — now supplemented by explosion data from the 1972 Rhinegraben experiment — have been checked and enhanced using the new MOZAIC time-term method. The large data set (762 travel times) continues to require a considerable anisotropy of upper-mantle P velocity. The resulting estimates of the overall velocity variation — probably 0.50–0.60 km/s about a mean value of 8.05 km/s, that is, 6 to 7 per cent anisotropy — and of the direction of the maximum velocity (close to 20° E of north) are reasonably reliable. However, the detailed form of the anisotropy is obscured by various limitations of the data.
These results allow a realistic assessment of the resolving power of refraction-based studies of velocity anisotropy in the lithosphere. It is concluded that though such studies are probably adequate if the measurement of in situ anisotropy is required within the context of a generalized discussion of lithospheric dynamics they are not appropriate if a detailed specification of the anisotropy is desired.