Journey to Antarctica: Modeling crustal structure with an earthquake and a genetic algorithm

Abstract

In a previous work, we have used the genetic algorithm NSGA-II to generate a set of solutions to model the receiver functions and dispersion curves of several seismometer stations located in southern Africa. Now in continuation of applying the NSGA-II to seismic problems, we have used it to model the average velocity profiles along two-dimensional paths from a single seismic event to several stations across West Antarctica. The event was a rare continental earthquake of magnitude 5.6 that took place in West Antarctica near the Ross Ice Shelf during the austral winter of 2012. Data were collected from stations in the Global Seismic Network as well as a local network during the 2012–2013 field season. The seismograms were first modeled using a full body wave modeling code that generates synthetics based on a structure composed of layers with user-defined velocities, thicknesses, and densities. Those models then served as the starting models in NSGA-II, which created a set of solutions from which an average structure with error bounds was calculated for each station.