Lithospheric structure beneath the Zagros collision zone resolved by non-linear teleseismic tomography

The upper-mantle structure across the Zagros collision zone, in southwest Iran, is investigated using a non-linear weighted damped least-squares teleseismic tomography approach. The resolution of the structures/transitions in the upper mantle is enhanced significantly by correcting the teleseismic relative arrival time residuals for an a priori crustal velocity model and then performing the inversion with fixed crustal blocks. To investigate whether or not the lithospheric blocks and major transitions in the resulting model are required by the data or are artefacts of the inversion, the data were inverted using two different inverse methods (singular value decomposition and a quadratic programming method). New high-quality seismic velocity models show apparent correlation between surface geological features and seismic velocity structures at lithospheric depth across the Zagros collision zone. The image shows a sharp lithospheric boundary at the Main Zagros Thrust between 100 km and 250 km depth with P-wave velocity about 3 per cent faster within the Arabian Shield to the south. A step-like increase in lithospheric thickness across the Zagros collision zone is assumed to separate two different mantle structures namely the Arabian (to the south) and the Eurasian (to the north) domains. The most striking feature resolved is a north-dipping slab-like positive velocity anomaly

Dynamic Source Models of Icelandic Earthquakes and Teleseismic Tomograhy along the TOR array

This thesis describes new inversion-oriented methodological developments and their seismological applications. In the first study presented the dynamic source parameters of some local Icelandic earthquakes are studied by employing a time domain moment tensor inversion method. A windowing method for direct P and S phases was used and the inversion was performed for frequencies lower than the associated corner frequency under the double-couple constraint. The inversion algorithm could determine the dynamic source parameters correctly, even under conditions of poor azimuthal coverage. The second study deals with a new method for calculating the empirical Green's function based on inversion of earthquake radiation patterns. The resulting Green's functions then may contain both body and surface waves. The validity of the method was then confirmed by applying the method to some Icelandic earthquakes. The lithosphere-asthenosphere transition along the TOR array is investigated in the last two studies. Separate and simultaneous teleseismic P and S relative arrival-time residuals were inverted via different methods (a singular value decomposition and a quadratic programming method) to investigate the reliability and the resolution of the model. The data were corrected a priori for the effect of travel-time perturbations due to crustal structure. The results indicate that the transition between thinner lithosphere in Germany to the thicker Baltic Shield in Sweden occurs in two sharp and steep steps. A sharp and steep subcrustal boundary is found below the Tornquist Zone, with a less significant transition below the Elbe Lineament. The lithospheric structure appears to be about 120 km thick under the Tornquist Zone, increasing to more than 200 km beneath the Baltic Shield

Dynamic Source Models of Icelandic Earthquakes and Teleseismic Tomograhy along the TOR array

This thesis describes new inversion-oriented methodological developments and their seismological applications. In the first study presented the dynamic source parameters of some local Icelandic earthquakes are studied by employing a time domain moment tensor inversion method. A windowing method for direct P and S phases was used and the inversion was performed for frequencies lower than the associated corner frequency under the double-couple constraint. The inversion algorithm could determine the dynamic source parameters correctly, even under conditions of poor azimuthal coverage. The second study deals with a new method for calculating the empirical Green's function based on inversion of earthquake radiation patterns. The resulting Green's functions then may contain both body and surface waves. The validity of the method was then confirmed by applying the method to some Icelandic earthquakes. The lithosphere-asthenosphere transition along the TOR array is investigated in the last two studies. Separate and simultaneous teleseismic P and S relative arrival-time residuals were inverted via different methods (a singular value decomposition and a quadratic programming method) to investigate the reliability and the resolution of the model. The data were corrected a priori for the effect of travel-time perturbations due to crustal structure. The results indicate that the transition between thinner lithosphere in Germany to the thicker Baltic Shield in Sweden occurs in two sharp and steep steps. A sharp and steep subcrustal boundary is found below the Tornquist Zone, with a less significant transition below the Elbe Lineament. The lithospheric structure appears to be about 120 km thick under the Tornquist Zone, increasing to more than 200 km beneath the Baltic Shield

Dynamic Source Models of Icelandic Earthquakes and Teleseismic Tomograhy along the TOR array

This thesis describes new inversion-oriented methodological developments and their seismological applications. In the first study presented the dynamic source parameters of some local Icelandic earthquakes are studied by employing a time domain moment tensor inversion method. A windowing method for direct P and S phases was used and the inversion was performed for frequencies lower than the associated corner frequency under the double-couple constraint. The inversion algorithm could determine the dynamic source parameters correctly, even under conditions of poor azimuthal coverage. The second study deals with a new method for calculating the empirical Green's function based on inversion of earthquake radiation patterns. The resulting Green's functions then may contain both body and surface waves. The validity of the method was then confirmed by applying the method to some Icelandic earthquakes. The lithosphere-asthenosphere transition along the TOR array is investigated in the last two studies. Separate and simultaneous teleseismic P and S relative arrival-time residuals were inverted via different methods (a singular value decomposition and a quadratic programming method) to investigate the reliability and the resolution of the model. The data were corrected a priori for the effect of travel-time perturbations due to crustal structure. The results indicate that the transition between thinner lithosphere in Germany to the thicker Baltic Shield in Sweden occurs in two sharp and steep steps. A sharp and steep subcrustal boundary is found below the Tornquist Zone, with a less significant transition below the Elbe Lineament. The lithospheric structure appears to be about 120 km thick under the Tornquist Zone, increasing to more than 200 km beneath the Baltic Shield

Ambient noise surface wave tomography of the Makran subduction zone, south-east Iran : Implications for crustal and uppermost mantle structures

Seismic ambient noise of surface wave tomography was applied to estimate Rayleigh wave empirical Green’s functions (EGFs) and then to study crust and uppermost mantle structure beneath the Makran region in south-east Iran. 12 months of continuous data from January 2009 through January 2010, recorded at broadband seismic stations, were analyzed. Group velocities of the fundamental mode Rayleigh wave dispersion curves were obtained from the empirical Green’s functions. Multiple-filter analysis was used to plot group velocity variations at periods from 10 to 50 s. Using group velocity dispersion curves, 1-D v S velocity models were calculated between several station pairs. The final results demonstrate significant agreement to known geological and tectonic features. Our tomography maps display low-velocity anomaly with SW-NE trend, comparable with volcanic arc settings of the Makran region which may be attributable to the geometry of Arabian Plate subducting beneath the overriding the Lut block. The northward subducting Arabian Plate is determined by high-velocity anomaly along the Straits of Hormuz. At short periods (<20 s), there is a sharp transition boundary between low- and high-velocity transition zone with the NW trending at the western edge of Makran which is attributable to the Minab fault system