Regional crustal structure of Indonesia from receiver functions

Abstract

Characterizing the crustal structure of Indonesia is important to gain a better understanding of its geodynamic evolution and improve seismic hazard assessments in the area. However, a unified crustal model of the entire Indonesian region and its surroundings is lacking. We present new maps of crustal thickness and bulk Vp/Vs ratio in Indonesia and the surrounding area that are obtained using P-wave receiver functions at 36 seismic stations from several permanent regional networks. The measured crustal thickness varies from ∼24 km to ∼38 km. The thickest crust, ∼38 km, is beneath Flores Island, southern Maluku, and neighboring northernmost Australia, whereas the thinnest crust, ∼24 km, is found under eastern Malaysia. Thus, crustal thickness varies by ∼14 km (from ∼24 km to ∼38 km) despite the small changes in elevation at the measurement points. The Vp/Vs ratios are 1.79±0.11, with high values (>1.85) found along the Banda-Sunda arc-trench system. We attribute these high values to: (1) the presence of mafic island arc and oceanic crust and (2) partial melting within this volcanic region, which causes a larger decrease in S-wave velocities compared with P-wave velocities. The comparison of the seismic properties of Indonesian island arc crust, particularly the Vp/Vs ratio, with laboratory measurements and the petrology of the exhumed Talkeetna island arc, Alaska, allows us to infer the crustal composition of Indonesian island arc crust.