Crustal anisotropy of Taihang Mountain Range using azimuthal variation of receiver functions

Abstract

We discussed the possibility of studying crust anisotropy by analyzing azimuthal variation of the receiver functions and presented a technique for computing the transmission response of a flat-layered medium with arbitrarily oriented hexagonally symmetric anisotropy using the reflectivity algorithm. Using this method we investigated the crust anisotropy of Taihang Mountain Range (TMR). Our result shows that there is significant anisotropy with a slow symmetry axis in the upper crust and a fast symmetry axis in the lower crust. The anisotropy magnitude of about 8%∼15% is found in the upper crust and a smaller magnitude of about 3%∼5% in the lower crust. Orientation of the symmetry axes and the depth of anisotropy appearance as deduced from the seismic records of four individual seismic stations are different from each other. The crust anisotropy beneath the four stations may be associated with the local crustal fabrics in a small area.