Joint inversion of surface wave dispersion and receiver functions: a Bayesian Monte-Carlo approach

A non-linear Bayesian Monte-Carlo method is presented to estimate a Vsv model beneath stations by jointly interpreting Rayleigh wave dispersion and receiver functions and associated uncertainties. The method is designed for automated application to large arrays of broad-band seismometers. As a testbed for the method, 185 stations from the USArray Transportable Array are used in the IntermountainWest, a region that is geologically diverse and structurally complex. Ambient noise and earthquake tomography are updated by applying eikonal and Helmholtz tomography, respectively, to construct Rayleighwave dispersion maps from 8 to 80 s across the study region with attendant uncertainty estimates.Amethod referred to as ‘harmonic stripping method’ is described and applied as a basis for quality control and to generate backazimuth independent receiver functions for a horizontally layered, isotropic effective medium with uncertainty estimates for each station. A smooth parametrization between (as well as above and below) discontinuities at the base of the sediments and crust suffices to fit most features of both data types jointly across most of the study region. The effect of introducing receiver functions to surface wave dispersion data is quantified through improvements in the posterior marginal distribution of model variables. Assimilation of receiver functions quantitatively improves the accuracy of estimates of Moho depth, improves the determination of the Vsv contrast across Moho, and improves uppermost mantle structure because of the ability to relax a priori constraints. The method presented here is robust and can be applied systematically to construct a 3-D model of the crust and uppermost mantle across the large networks of seismometers that are developing globally, but also provides a framework for further refinements in the method.

[1]  Yingjie Yang,et al.  Processing seismic ambient noise data to obtain reliable broad-band surface wave dispersion measurements , 2007 .

[2]  F. Pollitz.  Observations and interpretation of fundamental mode Rayleigh wavefields recorded by the Transportable Array (USArray) , 2008 .

[3]  W. Mooney,et al.  The North American upper mantle: Density, composition, and evolution , 2010 .

[4]  M. Moschetti,et al.  Complex and variable crustal and uppermost mantle seismic anisotropy in the western United States , 2011 .

[5]  G. R. Keller,et al.  Deep Probe: imaging the roots of western North America , 2002 .

[6]  Niels Bohr,et al.  Monte Carlo sampling of solutions to inverse problems , 2004 .

[7]  Mikhail K. Kaban,et al.  Receiver function tomography of the central Tien Shan , 2004 .

[8]  V. Tsai,et al.  Joint inversion of Rayleigh wave phase velocity and ellipticity using USArray: Constraining velocity and density structure in the upper crust , 2012 .

[9]  Thomas J. Owens,et al.  Automated Receiver Function Processing , 2005 .

[10]  Morgan P. Moschetti,et al.  Seismic evidence for widespread crustal deformation caused by extension in the western USA , 2010 .

[11]  Jie Zheng,et al.  The Role Played and Opportunities Provided by IGP DMC of China National Seismic Network in Wenchuan Earthquake Disaster Relief and Researches , 2010 .

[12]  M. Moschetti,et al.  Seismic evidence for widespread western-US deep-crustal deformation caused by extension , 2010, Nature.

[13]  B. Kennett,et al.  The crustal thickness of Australia , 2000 .

[14]  Roel Snieder,et al.  Eikonal tomography: surface wave tomography by phase front tracking across a regional broad‐band seismic array , 2009 .

[15]  Malcolm Sambridge,et al.  Genetic algorithm inversion for receiver functions with application to crust and uppermost mantle structure , 1996 .

[16]  Malcolm Sambridge,et al.  Finding acceptable models in nonlinear inverse problems using a neighbourhood algorithm , 2001 .

[17]  M. Pasyanos,et al.  Lithospheric structure of the continent–continent collision zone: eastern Turkey , 2006 .

[18]  M. Pérez‐Gussinyé,et al.  The role of crustal quartz in controlling Cordilleran deformation , 2011, Nature.

[19]  Yongxin Pan,et al.  Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors , 2015 .

[20]  M. Moschetti,et al.  Crustal shear velocity structure of the western US 1 inferred from ambient seismic noise and earthquake 2 data , 2010 .

[21]  R. Herrmann,et al.  Lithospheric structure of the Arabian Shield from the joint inversion of receiver functions and surface-wave group velocities , 2003 .

[22]  R. Hilst,et al.  Joint Inversion of Receiver Function and Ambient Noise Based on Bayesian Theory , 2010 .

[23]  M. Bischoff,et al.  Lithospheric structure in the area of Crete constrained by receiver functions and dispersion analysis of Rayleigh phase velocities , 2004 .

[24]  D. Wiens,et al.  Structure of the crust beneath Cameroon, West Africa, from the joint inversion of Rayleigh wave group velocities and receiver functions , 2010 .

[25]  Michael H. Ritzwoller,et al.  Ambient noise tomography with a large seismic array , 2011 .

[26]  Charles J. Ammon,et al.  Lithospheric Structure of the Arabian Shield from the Joint Inversion of Receiver Function and Surface-Wave Dispersion Observations , 2000 .

[27]  A. Tarantola,et al.  Generalized Nonlinear Inverse Problems Solved Using the Least Squares Criterion (Paper 1R1855) , 1982 .

[28]  E. Engdahl,et al.  Structural context of the great Sumatra‐Andaman Islands earthquake , 2008 .

[29]  Mrinal K. Sen,et al.  Application of very fast simulated annealing to the determination of the crustal structure beneath Tibet , 1996 .

[30]  Morgan P. Moschetti,et al.  Structure of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the western United States revealed by ambient noise and earthquake tomography , 2008 .

[31]  C. K. Wilson,et al.  Single‐chamber silicic magma system inferred from shear wave discontinuities of the crust and uppermost mantle, Coso geothermal area, California , 2002 .

[32]  Michael H. Ritzwoller,et al.  A 3-D shear velocity model of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the United States from ambient seismic noise , 2009 .

[33]  S. Zhong,et al.  Cooling history of the Pacific lithosphere , 2003 .

[34]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crust and uppermost mantle beneath the North China Craton, northeastern China, and the Sea of Japan from ambient noise tomography , 2011 .

[35]  Anatoli L. Levshin,et al.  Ambient noise Rayleigh wave tomography across Europe , 2007 .

[36]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Helmholtz surface wave tomography for isotropic and azimuthally anisotropic structure , 2011 .

[37]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  The structure of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath South China from ambient noise and earthquake tomography , 2012 .

[38]  B. Kennett,et al.  Variations in crustal structure across the transition from West to East Antarctica, Southern Victoria Land , 2003 .

[39]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  A resolved mantle anomaly as the cause of the Australian‐Antarctic Discordance , 2003 .

[40]  W. Walter,et al.  A multistep approach for joint modeling of surface wave dispersion and teleseismic receiver functions: Implications for lithospheric structure of the Arabian Peninsula , 2006 .

[41]  Michel Campillo,et al.  High-Resolution Surface-Wave Tomography from Ambient Seismic Noise , 2005, Science.

[42]  Klaus Mosegaard,et al.  MONTE CARLO METHODS IN GEOPHYSICAL INVERSE PROBLEMS , 2002 .

[43]  C. Basuyau,et al.  Imaging lithospheric interfaces and 3D structures using receiver functions, gravity, and tomography in a common inversion scheme , 2011, Comput. Geosci..

[44]  Walter D. Mooney,et al.  Seismic velocity structure and composition of the continental crust: A global view , 1995 .

[45]  G. Zandt,et al.  Neighbourhood inversion of teleseismic Ps conversions for anisotropy and layer dip , 2003 .

[46]  G. Randall,et al.  On the nonuniqueness of receiver function inversions , 1990 .

[47]  M. Sambridge.  Geophysical inversion with a neighbourhood algorithm—I. Searching a parameter space , 1999 .

[48]  G. Selvaggi,et al.  Possible fault plane in a seismic gap area of the southern Apennines (Italy) revealed by receiver function analysis , 2005 .

[49]  A. Rodgers,et al.  Seismic structure of Kuwait , 2007 .

[50]  C. Langston,et al.  Joint Analysis of Teleseismic Receiver Functions and Surface Wave Dispersion using the Genetic Algorithm , 2004 .

[51]  V. Tsai,et al.  The local amplification of surface waves: A new observable to constrain elastic velocities, density, and anelastic attenuation , 2012 .

[52]  N. Horspool,et al.  Implications for intraplate volcanism and back-arc deformation in northwestern New Zealand, from joint inversion of receiver functions and surface waves , 2006, Geophysical Journal International.

[53]  J. Cassidy,et al.  Numerical experiments in broadband receiver function analysis , 1992, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[54]  Marcelo Assumpção,et al.  Multi-objective inversion of surface waves and receiver functions by competent genetic algorithm applied to the crustal structure of the Paraná Basin, SE Brazil , 2004 .

[55]  Morgan P. Moschetti,et al.  Surface wave tomography of the western United States from ambient seismic noise: Rayleigh wave group velocity maps , 2007 .

[56]  G. Foulger,et al.  The crustal structure beneath the northwest fjords, Iceland, from receiver functions and surface waves , 1999 .

[57]  Jeffrey Park,et al.  Seismic evidence for catastrophic slab loss beneath Kamchatka , 2002, Nature.

[58]  J. Cassidy,et al.  New constraints on subduction zone structure in northern Cascadia , 2005 .

[59]  C. Bassin,et al.  The Current Limits of resolution for surface wave tomography in North America , 2000 .

[60]  M. Salah,et al.  Crustal structure beneath the Lower Tagus Valley, southwestern Iberia using joint analysis of teleseismic receiver functions and surface-wave dispersion , 2011 .

[61]  S. Karato,et al.  Importance of anelasticity in the interpretation of seismic tomography , 1993 .

[62]  G. Selvaggi,et al.  Crustal Structure and Moho Geometry beneath the Northern Apennines (Italy) , 2002 .

[63]  D. L. Anderson,et al.  Preliminary reference earth model , 1981 .

[64]  Sebastiano Foti,et al.  A Monte Carlo multimodal inversion of surface waves , 2010 .

[65]  Jeffrey Park,et al.  Mapping seismic anisotropy using harmonic decomposition of receiver functions: An application to Northern Apennines, Italy , 2010 .

[66]  D. L. Anderson,et al.  Importance of Physical Dispersion in Surface Wave and Free Oscillation Problems: Review (Paper 6R0680) , 1977 .

[67]  Alan G. Jones,et al.  Joint inversion of receiver functions, surface wave dispersion, and magnetotelluric data , 2010 .

[68]  Anatoli L. Levshin,et al.  A synoptic view of the distribution and connectivity of the mid-crustal low velocity zone beneath Tibet , 2011 .

[69]  Morgan P. Moschetti,et al.  Surface wave tomography of the western United States from ambient seismic noise: Rayleigh and Love wave phase velocity maps , 2008 .

[70]  L. P. Vinnik,et al.  Detection of waves converted from P to SV in the mantle , 1977 .

[71]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  INTERMEDIATE-PERIOD GROUP-VELOCITY MAPS ACROSS CENTRAL ASIA, WESTERN CHINAAND PARTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST , 1998 .

[72]  M. Sambridge.  Geophysical inversion with a neighbourhood algorithm—II. Appraising the ensemble , 1999 .

[73]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Monte-Carlo inversion for a global shear-velocity model of the crust and upper mantle , 2002 .

[74]  Vadim Levin,et al.  P-SH conversions in a flat-layered medium with anisotropy of arbitrary orientation , 1997 .

[75]  T. J. Owens,et al.  Crustal structure of the East African Plateau from receiver functions and Rayleigh wave phase velocities , 1997 .

[76]  J. Pederson,et al.  Colorado Plateau magmatism and uplift by warming of heterogeneous lithosphere , 2009, Nature.

[77]  J. A. Snoke,et al.  Rayleigh-wave phase-velocity maps and three-dimensional shear velocity structure of the western US from local non-plane surface wave tomography , 2010 .

[78]  M. Savage.  Lower crustal anisotropy or dipping boundaries? Effects on receiver functions and a case study in New Zealand , 1998 .

[79]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Characteristics of surface waves generated by events on and near the Chinese nuclear test site , 1995 .

[80]  Amir Khan,et al.  The thermo-chemical and physical structure beneath the North American continent from Bayesian inversion of surface-wave phase velocities , 2011 .

[81]  V. Farra,et al.  Velocity shift in heterogeneous media with anisotropic spatial correlation , 1998 .

[82]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crustal structure determined from ambient noise tomography near the magmatic centers of the Coso region, southeastern California , 2011 .

[83]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crustal and uppermost mantle structure in southern Africa revealed from ambient noise and teleseismic tomography , 2008 .

[84]  Charles A. Langston,et al.  Structure under Mount Rainier, Washington, inferred from teleseismic body waves , 1979 .

[85]  A. Malinverno,et al.  Receiver function inversion by trans‐dimensional Monte Carlo sampling , 2010 .

[86]  Anatoli L. Levshin,et al.  Eurasian surface wave tomography: Group velocities , 1998 .

[87]  D. Wiens,et al.  Combined Receiver-Function and Surface Wave Phase-Velocity Inversion Using a Niching Genetic Algorithm: Application to Patagonia , 2004 .

[88]  R. Herrmann,et al.  Imaging the Three-Dimensional Crust of the Korean Peninsula by Joint Inversion of Surface-Wave Dispersion and Teleseismic Receiver Functions , 2007 .

[89]  Christopher John Young,et al.  Nonstationary Bayesian kriging: A predictive technique to generate spatial corrections for seismic detection, location, and identification , 1998, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[90]  A. Sheehan,et al.  Correction to “Images of crustal variations in the intermountain west” , 2004 .

[91]  S. Dosso,et al.  Bayesian inversion of microtremor array dispersion data in southwestern British Columbia , 2010 .

[92]  E. Engdahl,et al.  Shear velocity structure of central Eurasia from inversion of surface wave velocities , 2001 .

[93]  M. Savage,et al.  Contrasting lithospheric structure between the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin: Initial results from Colorado Plateau ‐ Great Basin PASSCAL Experiment , 1997 .

[94]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  Crustal and upper mantle structure beneath Antarctica and surrounding oceans , 2001 .

[95]  Charles J. Ammon,et al.  Iterative deconvolution and receiver-function estimation , 1999 .

[96]  Michael H. Ritzwoller,et al.  Teleseismic surface wave tomography in the western U.S. using the Transportable Array component of USArray , 2008 .

[97]  Shear wave velocity and crustal thickness in the Pannonian Basin from receiver function inversions at four permanent stations in Hungary , 2007 .

[98]  Hiroo Kanamori,et al.  Moho depth variation in southern California from teleseismic receiver functions , 2000 .

[99]  W. Yeck,et al.  Short Note Sequential H-κ Stacking to Obtain Accurate Crustal Thicknesses beneath Sedimentary Basins , 2013 .

[100]  M. Sambridge,et al.  Monte Carlo analysis of inverse problems , 2002 .

[101]  Barbara Romanowicz,et al.  The three‐dimensional shear velocity structure of the mantle from the inversion of body, surface and higher‐mode waveforms , 2000 .

[102]  Daniele Boiero,et al.  Improved Monte Carlo inversion of surface wave data , 2008 .

[103]  C. Reigber,et al.  Crust and mantle of the Tien Shan from data of the receiver function tomography , 2006 .

[104]  C. Ammon,et al.  Receiver structure beneath the southern Mojave Block, California , 1993 .

[105]  A. Sheehan,et al.  Images of crustal variations in the intermountain west , 2004 .

[106]  A. Levander,et al.  Continuing Colorado plateau uplift by delamination-style convective lithospheric downwelling , 2011, Nature.

[107]  J. Brune,et al.  Shear-wave velocity structure in the northern Basin and Range province from the combined analysis of receiver functions and surface waves , 1997, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[108]  C. Chiarabba,et al.  Seismic structure beneath Mt Vesuvius from receiver function analysis and local earthquakes tomography: Evidences for location and geometry of the magma chamber , 2008 .

[109]  M. Ritzwoller,et al.  The use of crustal higher modes to constrain crustal structure across Central Asia , 2005 .

[110]  Kaijian Liu,et al.  VS and density structure beneath the Colorado Plateau constrained by gravity anomalies and joint inversions of receiver function and phase velocity data , 2012 .

[111]  M. Bostock.  Mantle stratigraphy and evolution of the Slave province , 1998 .

[112]  G. Abers.  Array measurements of phases used in receiver-function calculations: Importance of scattering , 1998, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[113]  D. Forsyth,et al.  Regional tomographic inversion of the amplitude and phase of Rayleigh waves with 2-D sensitivity kernels , 2006 .

[114]  Malcolm Sambridge,et al.  Transdimensional inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion , 2012 .

[115]  Maarten V. de Hoop,et al.  Surface-wave array tomography in SE Tibet from ambient seismic noise and two-station analysis: I - Phase velocity maps , 2006 .

[116]  M. Bostock,et al.  Modelling teleseismic waves in dipping anisotropic structures , 2000 .

[117]  F. Pollitz,et al.  Effect of 3-D viscoelastic structure on post-seismic relaxation from the 2004 M= 9.2 Sumatra earthquake , 2008 .

[118]  R. Phinney,et al.  Seismic structure of the lithosphere from teleseismic converted arrivals observed at small arrays in the southern Sierra Nevada and vicinity, California , 1998 .

[119]  B. Kennett,et al.  Non-linear waveform inversion for surface waves with a neighbourhood algorithm—application to multimode dispersion measurements , 2002 .