An investigation of the regional variations and frequency dependence of anelastic attenuation in the mantle under the United States in the 0.5–4 Hz band

Summary. Studies of teleseismic P -and S -wave amplitudes and spectra in the 0.5–4 Hz band show large variations in the attenuative properties of the upper mantle under the United States. The data indicate that attenuation is greatest under the south-western United States including, but not confined to, the Basin and Range province. The lowest attenuation prevails under the north central shield regions. The north-eastern part of the country, consisting of New England and possibly including a larger area along the eastern seaboard, is characterized by moderate attenuation in the mantle.
The level of the high-frequency energy in short-period seismic waves and the differences between Q values derived from short-and long-period data indicate that Q is frequency dependent. The form of frequency dependence of t * compatible with the data in the 0.5–4 Hz range does not allow a rapid decrease of t * with increasing frequency. Rather it supports a gradual decrease covering the broader 0.1–4 Hz range. The curves of t * versus frequency, for shield-to-shield and mixed shield-to-western United States type paths are parallel with an average difference of 0.2 s in t * in the short-period band, but may diverge towards the long-period band. For both curves t *_p is below 1 s. For shield-to-shield paths t *_p must be below 0.5 s at 1 Hz.