Ambient seismic noise tomography in west-central and Southern Brazil, characterizing the crustal structure of the Chaco-Paraná, Pantanal and Paraná basins

Abstract

SUMMARYSurface wave analysis provides important information on crustal structure, but it is challenging to obtain accurate/robust models in aseismic regions because of the lack of local earthquake records. In this paper, interstation empirical Green's functions retrieved by ambient seismic noise in 75 broad-band stations from 2016 January to 2018 September were used to study crustal structure in west-central Brazil. Fast marching method was applied to calculate the 2-D surface wave tomographic maps, and local dispersion curves were estimated in the period range of 4–80 s for each geographic cell. 1-D damped least squares inversion method was then conducted to obtained shear wave velocity model. Finally, the average ($\tilde{\rm V}$S) of the calculated VSV and VSH quasi 3-D models were used to characterize the crustal structure. Besides the checkerboard test resolution, a stochastic test with the effect of errors in the dispersion curves and choice of inversion parameters were carried out to better evaluate model uncertainties. Our results show a clear relation between the sedimentary thickness and geological units with the shorter period tomographic maps. Agreement has also been observed in longer periods such as the clear N–S anomaly along the Asuncion and Rio Grande Arches representing the boundary between the Chaco-Paraná and the Paraná basins. A 3-D composite velocity model shows a crustal structure consisting of three main layers. Some differences in lower crustal properties were found between the Paraná and Chaco-Paraná basins, consistent with a recently postulated, gravity-derived Western Paraná suture zone. However, no high velocities along the SW–NE axis of the Paraná basin were found to confirm proposed underplating. At the eastern edge of the Pantanal basin, the thin crust seems to be associated with a very thin (or lack of) lower crustal layer, consistent with a recently proposed crustal delamination hypothesis for the formation of the Pantanal basin.