Seismic, receiver function technique

Abstract

Receiver functions or converted waves belong to a class of small secondary scattered waves generated by a relatively strong main phase like P or S. Similar scattered phases are precursors of other main phases like PP, SS, or P0 P0, which have the great advantage to cover areas that are difficult to access, like oceans (see Body Waves; Seismic Phase Names: IASPEI Standard). These techniques are since about 30 years the main tools to study discontinuities of material properties in the Earth. The other main seismic tool is tomography, which is sensitive to smooth changes of material properties. The success of the scattered wave techniques was made possible by the great extension of high quality seismic networks in the last decades. Permanent and mobile networks supplement each other. Especially studies of the lithospheric plates and the mantle transition zone have gained much from the new techniques. Many more detailed results can be expected when much denser networks will be used in future. A recent review of the receiver function technique has been given by Rondenay (2009). A number of additional processing steps are the use of multiples to determine average crustal properties (e.g., Zhu and Kanamori, 2000), the role of anisotropy (e.g., Levin and Park, 1997; Schulte-Pelkum et al., 2005), or three-dimensional inversion (e.g., Bostock, 2002).