Resolving crustal thickness using SS waveform stacks

Abstract

We image lithospheric interfaces using variations in the character of SS waveform stacks, a method we term SS Lithospheric Interface Profiling (SSLIP). The variations are caused by reflected phases, that is, underside reflections (SS precursors) and topside multiples (SS reverberations), created at velocity discontinuities near the midpoint of the SS ray path. Stacks from continental versus oceanic bounce point regions produce distinctly different SS waveforms, consistent with the large continent/ocean difference in crustal thickness. To investigate the potential of SS waveform stacks to constrain Moho depths under continents, we develop a method to fit continental bounce point stacks with a reference SS waveform convolved with a crustal operator. The SSLIP inferred Moho depths agree with the CRUST 2.0 model in Asia for those regions where the SS bounce point density is the highest. The SSLIP depths are correlated (correlation coefficient 0.82) with the CRUST 2.0 values averaged over sample bins of 10° radius. The SSLIP method has broad lateral resolution in comparison to most other methods for resolving crustal thickness, but has the potential to sample regions where station coverage may be sparse. © 2010 The Authors Journal compilation © 2010 RAS.