A global SS precursor method for imaging discontinuities: the Moho and beyond

Abstract

SUMMARY Imaging seismic velocity discontinuities within the Earth's interior offers important insight into our understanding of the tectonic plate, associated mantle dynamics, and the evolution of the planet. However, imaging velocity discontinuities in locations where station coverage is sparse, is sometimes challenging. Here we demonstrate the effectiveness of a new imaging approach using deconvolved SS precursor phases. We demonstrate its effectiveness by applying it to synthetic seismograms. We also apply it to ∼1.6 M SS precursor waveforms from the global seismic database (1990–2018) for comparison with CRUST1.0. We migrate to depth and stack the data in circular 6° bins. The synthetic tests demonstrate that we can recover Moho depths as shallow as 20 km. Globally, the Moho is resolved at 21–67 km depth beneath continental regions. The Moho increases in depth from 21 km ± 4 km beneath the continental shelf to 45–50 km beneath the continental interiors and is as deep as 67 ± 4 km beneath Tibet. We resolve the Moho in 77 percent of all continental bins, within 10 km of CRUST1.0, with all outliers located in coastal regions. We also demonstrate the feasibility of using this method to image discontinuities associated with the mantle transition zone with both synthetic and real data. Overall, the approach shows broad promise for imaging mantle discontinuities.