A review of the influencing factors on teleseismic traveltime tomography

Teleseismic traveltime tomography is an important tool for investigating the crust and mantle structure of the Earth.The imaging quality of teleseismic traveltime tomography is affected by many factors,such as mantle heterogeneities,source uncertainties and random noise.Many previous studies have investigated these factors separately.An integral study of these factors is absent.To provide some guidelines for teleseismic traveltime tomography,we discussed four main influencing factors:the method for measuring relative traveltime differences,the presence of mantle heterogeneities outside the imaging domain,station spacing and uncertainties in teleseismic event hypocenters.Four conclusions can be drawn based on our analysis.(1)Comparing two methods,i.e.,measuring the traveltime difference between two adjacent stations(M1)and subtracting the average traveltime of all stations from the traveltime of one station(M2),reveals that both M1 and M2 can well image the main structures;while M1 is able to achieve a slightly higher resolution than M2;M2 has the advantage of imaging long wavelength structures.In practical teleseismic traveltime tomography,better tomography results can be achieved by a two-step inversion method.(2)Global mantle heterogeneities can cause large traveltime residuals(up to about 0.55 s),which leads to evident imaging artifacts.(3)The tomographic accuracy and resolution of M1 decrease with increasing station spacing when measuring the relative traveltime difference between two adjacent stations.(4)The traveltime anomalies caused by the source uncertainties are generally less than 0.2 s,and the impact of source uncertainties is negligible.

An eikonal equation-based earthquake location method by inversion of multiple phase arrivals

The precise determination of earthquake location is the fundamental basis in seismological community,and is crucial for analyzing seismic activity and performing seismic tomography.First arrivals are generally used to practically determine earthquake locations.However,first-arrival traveltimes are not sensitive to focal depths.Moreover,they cannot accurately constrain focal depths.To improve the accuracy,researchers have analyzed the depth phases of earthquake locations.The traveltimes of depth phases are sensitive to focal depths,and the joint inversion of depth phases and direct phases can be implemented to potentially obtain accurate earthquake locations.Generally,researchers can determine earthquake locations in layered models.Because layered models can only represent the first-order feature of subsurface structures,the advantages of joint inversion are not fully explored if layered models are used.To resolve the issue of current joint inversions,we use the traveltimes of three seismic phases to determine earthquake locations in heterogeneous models.The three seismic phases used in this study are the first P-,sPg-and PmP-waves.We calculate the traveltimes of the three seismic phases by solving an eikonal equation with an upwind difference scheme and use the traveltimes to determine earthquake locations.To verify the accuracy of the earthquake location method by the inversion of three seismic phases,we take the 2021 M_(S)6.4 Yangbi,Yunnan earthquake as an example and locate this earthquake using synthetic and real seismic data.Numerical tests demonstrate that the eikonal equation-based earthquake location method,which involves the inversion of multiple phase arrivals,can effectively improve earthquake location accuracy.

Velocity structure and radial anisotropy beneath the northeastern Tibetan Plateau revealed by eikonal equation-based teleseismic P-wave traveltime tomography

The northeastern Tibetan Plateau serves as the frontier for the northeastward expansion of the plateau.In this area,the Tibetan Plateau interacts with the surrounding blocks,such as the Alxa Block,the Ordos Block,the Kunlun-West Qinling belt and the Sichuan Basin.Because of this expansion and interaction,this area suffers from intense deformation.At present,the evolution and deformation mechanisms of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau remain controversial.To provide new insights into these mechanisms,in this study,we conduct tomography of the P-wave velocity and radial anisotropy structures beneath the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.We choose a total of 667 teleseismic earthquakes from August 2006 to October 2020.Waveforms of these earthquakes were recorded by 921 broadband seismic stations in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas.We first perform cross-correlation on waveforms of each station pair and obtain 770,749 P-wave traveltime differences.Then,we invert the differential traveltime data by applying eikonal equation-based teleseismic tomography.Finally,the P-wave velocity and radial anisotropy structures at depths from 30 to 800 km below the northeastern Tibetan Plateau are obtained.Our tomographic model shows clear low-velocity anomalies and positive radial anisotropy in the lower crust under the northeastern Qilian orogen,the northeastern Songpan-Ganzi belt and the western Qinling fold zone.These features are integrated to demonstrate the existence of lower crustal flow in the study area.Prominent low-velocity anomalies and positive radial anisotropy are found in the uppermost mantle beneath the Qilian orogen,the northeastern Songpan-Ganzi belt and western Qinling fold zone.These characteristics are combined to infer a weak lithosphere and horizontal asthenospheric flow under these tectonic units.Both the Ordos Block and the Sichuan Basin exhibit clear high-velocity anomalies and negative radial anisotropy in the uppermost mantle,thereby reflecting the high mechanical strength of the lithosphere beneath these blocks.High-velocity anomalies are also present in the upper mantle under the northern Chuandian block,potentially implying the northward subduction of the Indian plate.Furthermore,the front of the subducted Indian plate is imaged close to the Xianshuihe fault rather than the Kunlun fault.