HIGH-RESOLUTION SEISMIC VELOCITY AND ATTENUATION MODELS OF THE CAUCASUS-CASPIAN REGION
The southwest edge of Eurasia is a tectonically and structurally complex region that includes the Caspian and Black Sea basins, the Caucasus Mountains, and the high plateaus south of the Caucasus. Using data from 25 broadband stations located in the region, new estimates of crustal and upper mantle thickness, velocity structure, and attenuation are being developed. Receiver functions have been determined for all stations. Depth to Moho is estimated using slant stacking of the receiver functions, forward modeling, and inversion. Moho depths along the Caspian and in the Kura Depression are in general poorly constrained using only receiver functions due to thick sedimentary basin sediments. The best fitting models suggest a low velocity upper crust with Moho depths ranging from 30 to 40 km. Crustal thicknesses increase in the Greater Caucasus with Moho depths of 40 to 50 km. Pronounced variations with azimuth of source are observed indicating 3D structural complexity and upper crustal velocities are higher than in the Kura Depression to the south. In the Lesser Caucasus, south and west of the Kura Depression, the crust is thicker (40 to 50 km) and upper crustal velocities are higher. Work is underway to refine these models with the event based surface wave dispersion and ambient noise correlation measurements from continuous data. Regional phase (Lg and Pg) attenuation models as well as blockage maps for Pn and Sn are being developed. Two methods are used to estimate Q: the two-station method to estimate inter-station Q and the reversed, two-station, two event method. The results are then inverted to create Lg and Pg Q maps. Initial results suggest substantial variations in both Pg and Lg Q in the region. A zone of higher Pg Q extends west from the Caspian between the Lesser and Greater Caucasus and a narrow area of higher Lg Q is observed.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 945756
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-PROC-405214
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Lithospheric velocity structure of the Anatolian plateau-Caucasus-Caspian region
HIGH-RESOLUTION SEISMIC VELOCITY AND ATTENUATION MODELS OF THE CAUCASUS-CASPIAN REGION