3-D crustal velocity structure of western Turkey: Constraints from full-waveform tomography

Abstract

The Sea of Marmara and western Turkey are characterized by intense seismicity and crustal deformation due to transition tectonics between the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) and the extensional Aegean. Seismic imaging of the crust and uppermost mantle in W-NW Turkey is crucial to obtain a better understanding of its seismotectonics and geodynamics. So far, the Sea of Marmara and surroundings were considered in various active and passive seismic experiments providing significant information on crustal properties. Here, we further investigate the 3-D seismic velocity structure in this rapidly deforming region using non-linear full-waveform tomography based on the adjoint method. Our model is constrained by complete waveforms of 62 regional earthquakes (epicentral distance<10°) with magnitudes Mw≥3.7, which occurred between 2007 and 2015. Validation tests show that our final 3-D Earth model is able to explain seismic waveforms from earthquakes not used in the inversion at periods from 8-100s to within the data uncertainties. Furthermore, quantitative resolution analyses yield 15 to 35km horizontal resolution lengths in the shallow and deep crust beneath well-covered areas of W-NW Turkey. Our full-waveform tomography results indicate the presence of strong lateral and vertical velocity variations (2.55≤VS≤4.0km/s) down to depths of ∼35km. The seismic velocity distribution is characteristic of highly deformed and distributed crustal features along major fault zones (e.g. NAFZ and its branches), historic and recent regional volcanism (e.g. Kula volcanic province), and metamorphic core complex developments (e.g. Menderes and Kazdağ massifs). Radial anisotropy is very strong (around 20%) throughout the crust, further attesting to strong deformation and heterogeneity. Generally, our 3-D model is overall consistent with the active tectonics of western Turkey.