Testing the resolution of a 3D velocity tomogram across the Chicxulub crater

Abstract

An integrated offshore/onshore reflection and refraction experiment was shot across the Chicxulub impact crater in 1996. The refraction data were previously inverted in 3D using first-arrival travel-time tomography. A regularized inversion, in which both data misfit and model roughness are minimized simultaneously, was used to determine a smooth velocity tomogram across the inner crater region. However, the experimental geometry for the refraction data was irregular, causing concern that this velocity model might not be well resolved. In this paper, we present a suite of checkerboard tests to investigate the lateral resolution of our velocity model. The Chicxulub crater is located partly onshore and partly offshore, with its centre close to the Yucatan coastline in Mexico. The shallow water limited acquisition of marine reflection data to distances of not closer than 25 km from the crater centre, and the centre of the structure is imaged with refraction data only. Intriguing velocity anomalies were observed across the central crater region, providing constraints on the lithological and structural form of Chicxulub. A high-velocity body within the central crater is most likely to represent lower-crustal rocks that were stratigraphically uplifted during the formation of this complex crater. The concave shape of this stratigraphic uplift suggests clues to the mechanics of large-crater collapse—the rocks appear to have moved upward and outward. An inward-dipping zone of lowered velocity has been interpreted as delimiting the outer edge of a central zone of melt-rich rocks. The resolution tests presented here indicate that these observed velocity anomalies are likely to be real.