Preliminary analysis of teleseismic receiver functions of the Ningxia and its adjacent area

The teleseismic receiver functions of digital seismic network of Ningxia and its adjacent area are calculated with two different Gauss filter factors. The accuracy and stability of the receiver functions are discussed. The h-k stacking method is applied to estimate the crustal thickness and velocity ratio beneath seismic stations. The results indicate that there are sharp changes of crustal thickness and velocity ratio in the studied region. This region is located in the northeastern margin of Tibet, and also a junction of several first-grade blocks. The large contrast of crustal structure in this region is considered to be resulted from the interaction of these blocks. Our results are helpful to construct the completed model of the formation and evolution of the Tibet. Some local structures are also discussed combining with the geological faults.

Receiver functions of CCDSN and crustal structure of Chinese mainland

The teleseismic receiver functions of 48 stations belonging to the CCDSN are used to invert the crustal structure beneath each station with the neighborhood algorithm. Thin layers with low velocity have been found beneath eight stations with ＂abnormal＂ observed receiver functions. Unreasonable results of few stations have been adjusted lightly with the trial-and-error method. The final result indicates that the crust in the western China is relatively thicker than the eastern China. The crust thickness beneath the Tibetan plateau is very large, which reaches 84 km at the station LSA. Double-crust structure exists below the stations LSA and CAD in Tibet, which might imply the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. A pronounced low velocity zone in the lower crust beneath the station TNC of Yunnan province might relate to the high temperature or emergence of partially molten material caused by Quaternary volcano, magma and geothermal activities in this area. The Moho is a transitional zone made up of thin layers instead of simple sharp discontinuity beneath several stations. The Conrad discontinuity is clearly identified beneath 20 stations mainly in the southeastern China, whereas it is blurry beneath 14 stations and uncertain beneath remaining stations.

Peeling linear inversion of upper mantle velocity structure with receiver functions

A peeling linear inversion method is presented to study the upper mantle （from Moho to 800 km depth） velocity structures with receiver functions. The influences of the crustal and upper mantle velocity ratio error on the inversion results are analyzed, and three valid measures are taken for its reduction. This method is tested with the IASP91 and the PREM models, and the upper mantle structures beneath the stations GTA, LZH, and AXX in northwestern China are then inverted. The results indicate that this inversion method is feasible to quantify upper mantle discontinuities, besides the discontinuities between 3hM （hM denotes the depth of Moho） and 5hM due to the interference of multiples from Moho. Smoothing is used to overcome possible false discontinuities from the multiples and ensure the stability of the inversion results, but the detailed information on the depth range between 3hM and 5hM is sacrificed.

An examination of the presence and topography of the D'' discontinuity under the Russia–Kazakhstan border region using seismic waveform data from a deep earthquake in Spain

The D＇＇ layer,which is located atop the core–mantle boundary,has long been an area of focus for global seismology studies. A widely used approach to study the discontinuities in the D＇＇ layer involves the use of the SdS phases between the S and ScS phases,which requires that certain stringent conditions be satisfied with respect to an epicentral distance and earthquake depth. Therefore,this approach is only practical for investigating the presence and topography of velocity interfaces in certain local regions around the world. The Russia–Kazakhstan border region has been a ‘‘blind spot＇＇ with respect to this detection method. The seismic network deployed in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau has recorded relatively clear SdS phases for the MS6.3 earthquake that occurred in Spain on April 11,2010,allowing this blind spot to be studied. This paper compares the observed waveforms and synthetics and uses the travel times of the relevant phases to obtain a D＇＇ discontinuity depth between2,610 and 2,740 km in the examined area. This study provides the first results regarding the depth of the D＇＇ layer discontinuity for this region and represents an important addition to the global studies of the D＇＇ layer.

Preface to the special issue on recent advances of deep structure,seismic anisotropy and seismotectonics in China

A workshop on crustal structure and seismotectonics was held on the Chinese Teacher＇s Day, the September 10th of 2011, in the city Lanzhou, China. Scientists and graduate students from Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Earthquake Administration, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology delivered over 20 oral presentations, with topics covering crustal and upper mantle structure, seismic anisotropy, recent earthquakes and seismotectonics,

Remnants of the amalgamation of the east and west Cathaysia blocks revealed by a short-period dense nodal array

The Cathaysia block located at the southeast South China block(SCB)is considered formed by the amalgamation of the east and west Cathaysia blocks along the Gaoyao-Huilai and Zhenghe-Dapu deep faults(here referred as GHF and ZDF,respectively).Although the extension of the ZDF to the northeast,which represents the amalgamation of the two sub-blocks has been confirmed,the development of the GHF to the southwest remains to be verified.To better constrain the detailed deep structure beneath the southwest Cathaysia,which hold great significance for revealing the evolution of the SCB,a linear seismic array with 331 nodal geophones was deployed across the Sanshui basin(SSB).Combining with the regional 10 permanent stations(PA),we obtained two profiles with teleseismic P-wave receiver function stacking.The most obvious feature in our results is the ascending Moho towards the coastal area,which is consistent with the passive margin continental and extensional tectonic setting.The stacking profile from the dense nodal array(DNA)shows that the Moho is offset beneath the transition zone of the Nanling orogeny and SSB.We deduce that this offset may be casued by the deep extension of the GHF,which represents the remnants of the amalgamation of the Cathaysia block.From the other evidences,we infer that the widespread and early erupted felsic magmas in the SSB may have resulted from lithospheric materials that were squeezed out to the surface.The relative higher Bouguer gravity and heat flow support the consolidation of magmas and the residual warm state in the shallow crustal scale beneath the SSB.The sporadic basaltic magmas in the middle SSB may have a close relation to deep extension of the GHF,which serves as a channel for upwelling hot materials.

Constraining the characters of the upper mantle discontinuities beneath the NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau with a dense broadband seismic array

Based on observations from a dense broadband seismic array located along the northeastern (NE) margin of the Tibetan Plateau in southeastern Gansu Province,we use receiver functions (RFs) to pick the arrival times of P-to-S converted waves and bin the traces in different grids according to the piercing points of the 410 and 660 km discontinuities in the upper mantle.The depths of the two discontinuities are estimated by the ray tracing method with the IASP91 velocity model and a 3-D tomography model.The results indicate the following:(1) The arrival times of the P410s and P660s converted phases are delayed by approximately 1 s than those predicted by the IASP91 model.The mantle transition zone (MTZ) is thicker than that in the global model.(2) The synchronous lags in the P410s and P660s arrival times are consistent with low-velocity anomalies in the upper mantle,which are believed to result mainly from the eastward migration of materials beneath the NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau.(3) Combined with previous tomography results,the depression of the'660'discontinuity and the thickened MTZ are somewhat consistent with the big mantle wedge (BMW) model.However,due to data limitations,more studies are required to explore the BMW in the future.