Thickness of the central and eastern European lithosphere as seen by S receiver functions

Abstract

S receiver functions obtained from seismograms of teleseismic events recorded at 78 European permanent broad-band stations are used to estimate the thickness of the European lithosphere. Our results provide new, independent information about the lithospheric thickness beneath the Precambrian platform of Eastern Europe and the Phanerozoic platform of central Europe. Detailed high-resolution images of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) reveal indications for a typical continental lithosphere of about 100 km thickness beneath a majority of stations within Central Europe, whereas in the vicinity of the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ), the lithosphere thickens to about 130 km. A relatively thin lithosphere of 80 km was found beneath the Upper Rhine Graben region suggesting that the Cenozoic extension affects the whole lithosphere. No clear signal from the LAB was detected beneath the Alps and Carpathians. The LAB Sp phase might be disturbed by complicated structure due to ongoing collision/subduction in these regions, or the data are not yet sufficiently dense. A relatively thicker lithosphere of about 120 km was found beneath the SW part of the Bohemian Massif that was formed during the Variscan orogeny. We found an LAB depth of about 190 km near a single station located in the Vrancea area/Eastern Carpathians, which is characterized by the occurrence of intermediate deep earthquakes. Beneath the stations located in the Precambrian platform of Eastern Europe, the LAB deepens to approximately >200 km, even though the converted phase from the LAB is not as sharp as found beneath other stations located in Central Europe or even is missing. © 2010 The Authors Journal compilation © 2010 RAS.