On the nonuniqueness of receiver function inversions

Journal Article · Mon Sep 10 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JB095iB10p15303· OSTI ID:5933116

Ammon, C J ^[1]; Randall, G E ^[2]; Zandt, G ^[3]

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1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park (USA)
2. Univ. of Nevada, Reno (USA)
3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)

To study the resolving power of teleseismic P waveforms for receiver structure, the authors model synthetic waveforms using a time domain waveform inversion scheme beginning with a range of initial models to estimate the range of acceptable velocity structures. To speed up the waveform inversions, they implement Randall's (1989) efficient algorithms for calculating differential seismograms and include a smoothness constraint on all the resulting velocity models utilizing the jumping inversion technique of Shaw and Orcutt (1985). They present the results of more than 235 waveform inversions for one-dimensional velocity structures that indicate that the primary sensitivity of a receiver function is to high wavenumber velocity changes, and a depth-velocity product, not simply velocity. The range of slownesses in a typical receiver function study does not appear to be broad enough to remove the depth-velocity ambiguity; the inclusion of a priori information is necessary. They also present inversion results for station RSCP, located in the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee. The results are similar to those from a previous study by Owens et al. (1984) and demonstrate the uncertainties in the resulting velocity estimate more clearly.

• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5933116
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA) Vol. 95:B10; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
ALGORITHMS
CALCULATION METHODS
DATA ANALYSIS
DATA PROCESSING
FEDERAL REGION IV
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NORTH AMERICA
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
PROCESSING
SEISMIC ARRAYS
SEISMIC P WAVES
SEISMIC SOURCES
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SEISMIC WAVES
SURVEYS
TENNESSEE
USA
WAVE FORMS
WAVE PROPAGATION