Dispersion Analysis Of Rayleigh Waves Research Articles

Crustal structure of Borneo, Makassar Strait and Sulawesi from ambient noise tomography

SUMMARY Borneo and Sulawesi are two large islands separated by the Makassar Strait that lie within the complex tectonic setting of central Indonesia. The seismic structure beneath this region is poorly understood due to the limited data availability. In this study, we present Rayleigh wave tomography results that illuminate the underlying crustal structure. Group velocity is retrieved from dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves extracted from the ambient noise field by cross-correlating long-term recordings from 108 seismic stations over a period of 8 months. We then produce a 3-D shear wave velocity model via a two-stage process in which group velocity maps are computed across a range of periods and then sampled over a dense grid of points to produce pseudo-dispersion curves; these dispersion curves are then separately inverted for 1-D shear wave velocity (Vs), with the resultant models combined and interpolated to form a 3-D model. In this model, we observed up to ± 1.2 km s−1 lateral Vs heterogeneities as a function of depth. Our models illuminate a strong low shear wave velocity (Vs) anomaly at shallow depth (≤ 14 km) and a strong high Vs anomaly at depths of 20–30 km beneath the North Makassar Strait. We inferred the sediment basement and Moho depth from our 3-D Vs model based on iso-velocity constrained by the positive vertical gradient of the Vs models. The broad and deep sedimentary basement at ∼14 ± 2 km depth beneath the North Makassar Strait is floored by a shallow Moho at ∼22 ± 2 km depth, which is the thinnest crust in the study area. To the east of this region, our model reveals a Moho depth of ∼45 ± 2 km beneath Central Sulawesi, the thickest crust in our study area, which suggests crustal thickening since the late Oligocene. Moreover, the presence of high near-surface Vs anomalies with only slight changes of velocity with increasing depth in southwest Borneo close to Schwaner Mountain confirm the existence of a crustal root beneath this region.

A frequency-Hankel transform method to extract multimodal Rayleigh wave dispersion spectra from active and passive source surface wave data

Rayleigh wave dispersion energy spectra have been widely used to extract dispersion curves and invert underground S-wave velocity structures for engineering geophysics and seismology. We develop a frequency-Hankel (F-H) transform method to extract high-quality multimodal Rayleigh wave dispersion energy spectra from active and passive source Rayleigh wave data. The F-H transform method is inspired by the frequency-Bessel (F-J) transform method and considers the physical meaning of Green’s functions for Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis. The F-H transform method can naturally avoid crossed artifacts caused by converging waves on F-J spectrograms and obtain more multimodal dispersion spectra of the same quality with fewer Rayleigh wave data than the F-J transform method. Synthetic and field Rayleigh wave data from active and passive sources for near-surface exploration and ambient noise tomography are used to demonstrate the validity, accuracy, and applicability of the F-H transform method. The F-H transform method unifies the formulas of the F-J transform method and its modifications for active and passive sources of Rayleigh wave data. The F-H transform method is a robust and efficient multimodal Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis method for active and passive source Rayleigh wave data.

Crustal imbrication and mountain building in the Eastern Iranian Ranges; Insights from receiver function and Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis

The evolution of the Eastern Iranian Ranges (EIR) dates back to the Late Cretaceous, coinciding with the closure of the Neotethys and the accretion of the Lut Block to Eurasia. However, controversy remains regarding its orogenic processes due to limited knowledge of the lithospheric structure. To gain a better understanding of the tectonic processes and mountain formation in eastern Iran, we analyzed seismic data from 29 stations in the northern part of the EIR. We initially perform receiver function (RF) analyses on 2160 high-quality RFs, emphasizing single-station analysis and Common Conversion Point (CCP) stacking to examine structural variations. Subsequently, we jointly invert the RFs with Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion curves to derive a shear-wave velocity (Vs) model for each station. Our findings reveal a complex structure with west-dipping interfaces, indicating crustal layering and imbrication. We have identified a significant west-dipping layer, approximately 100 km in length, which could potentially indicate an intra-continental decoupling or shear zone. This decoupling may be responsible for the underthrusting of the Eurasian margin beneath the Lut Block, resulting in a deepening of the Moho depth to over 50 km beneath its footwall, compared to the adjacent Moho depth of around 40 km. Additionally, this process has caused an increase in the topography of approximately 1 km. These findings reflect the potential westward underthrusting of the Eurasian margin. In the deeper parts of the model, we observe a low-velocity anomaly below the crust, shedding light on a weakened lithosphere that facilitates crustal deformation in response to the compressional forces of convergence.

Directional sources and distributed acoustic sensing deployments for near-surface characterization

Active near-surface surveys using distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) have been practically limited to 2D inline acquisitions followed by Rayleigh-wave dispersion analysis. In this study, we analyze different acquisition setups and the subsurface properties that can be estimated from them. First, we find a surface survey dedicated to Love-wave acquisition. We use a horizontal source and common-receiver sorting of the DAS data for a pure Love-wave velocity dispersion analysis yielding an S-wave velocity profile. Common-receiver sorting has the added benefit of practically eliminating the effect of the gauge length. Next, downhole DAS is used in a vertical seismic profile-type survey to recover a 1D P-wave velocity through checkshot analysis. Finally, we find that the horizontal portion of a fiber deployed in a deviated borehole records high-frequency data from surface sources. We use first arrivals for diving-wave tomography, yielding a 2D P-wave velocity model above and below the fiber. We validate the inversion results of all acquisitions through a comparison with geophone-derived velocity models. We conclude that source orientation plays a crucial role and should be considered during survey planning in conjunction with DAS directivity. As anticipated, fiber coupling can strongly influence the signal-to-noise ratio and needs to be adequately planned. In vertical boreholes, infilling offers a viable solution for deployment in existing wells. For deviated boreholes, installation inside the casing yields suboptimal coupling, but more adequate deployment protocols may yield high-frequency data useful for velocity model building and imaging. From a practical point of view, the acquisitions that we describe are difficult to justify due to their operational costs and limitations. Nonetheless, they highlight the potential of DAS in going beyond traditional analysis.

Rayleigh-Wave Dispersion Analysis and Inversion Based on the Rotation.

Rotational observation is essential for a comprehensive description of the ground motion, and can provide additional wave-field information. With respect to the three typical layered models in shallow engineering geology, under the assumption of linear small deformation, we simulate the 2-dimensional radial, vertical, and rotational components of the wave fields and analyze the different characteristics of Rayleigh wave dispersion recorded for the rotational and translational components. Then, we compare the results of single-component inversion with the results of multi-component joint inversion. It is found that the rotational component has wider spectral bands and more higher modes than the translational components, especially at high frequencies; the rotational component has better anti-interference performance in the noisy data test, and it can improve the inversion accuracy of the shallow shear-wave velocity. The field examples also show the significant advantages of the joint utility of the translational and rotational components, especially when a low-velocity layer exists. Rotational observation shall be beneficial for shallow surface-wave exploration.

Inversion of rayleigh waves dispersion using quantum-behaved PSO to characterize the embankment of mud flow Dam in Sidoarjo (LUSI)

The characterization of the embankment can be done by constructing the shear wave velocity in subsurface. The investigation of near surface wave velocity using Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis is popular. This method is very fast and effective to construct the vertical wave velocity, but has no unique solution. As a result, the inverse modelling is often trapped in local optimums. Therefore, we used Quantum-behaved PSO to get the best solution (global optimum). Inversion method using Quantum-behaved PSO was performed on synthetic and field measurement data. Field data acquisition was executed at P80-81 using both active and passive surface waves methods. The inversion result of Rayleigh wave dispersion is shear wave velocity structure. Shear wave velocity imaging resulted by this method was used to characterize the embankment of mud flow dam in Sidoarjo (LUSI) and be compared to the resistivity measurement data. The subsurface structure which is constructed from the inversion of Rayleigh wave gives the same result as the resistivity.

Thermo-compositional structure of the north-eastern Canadian Shield from Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis as a record of its tectonic history

The thermal and compositional structure of lithospheric keels underlying cratons, which are stable continental cores formed during the Precambrian, is still an enigma. Mapping lithospheric temperatures and compositional heterogeneities is essential to better understand geodynamic processes that control craton formation and evolution. Here we investigate the northeastern part of North America which comprises the Superior Craton, the largest Archean craton in the world, and surrounding Proterozoic belts. We model Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves from a previous study, which were regionalised based on cluster analysis. Next, we perform a grid search for sub-crustal thermal and compositional structures that are consistent with the average dispersion curve for each cluster. We apply constraints on crustal structure and use thermodynamic methods to map thermo-compositional structures into seismic velocity. In agreement with previous studies, most regions require concentrations of metasomatic minerals over certain depth intervals to fit the seismic profiles. Our results further require vertical as well as lateral variations in compositional and thermal structures, which appear to reflect different stages of formation and modification of the lithosphere below the region, with distinct structures found under Archean cores, Archean/Paleoproterozoic collision belts, mid-late Proterozoic collision belts, and zones affected by rifting.

Crust and upper mantle shear wave structure of Northeast Algeria from Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis

We resolve the crust and upper mantle structure beneath Northeast Algeria at depths of 0–400km, using inversion of fundamental mode Rayleigh wave. Our data set consists of 490 earthquakes recorded between 2007 and 2014 by five permanent broadband seismic stations in the study area. Applying a combination of different filtering technics and inversion method shear wave velocities structure were determined as functions of depth.The resolved changes in Vs at 50km depth are in perfect agreement with crustal thickness estimates, which reflect the study area’s orogenic setting, partly overlying the collision zone between the African and Eurasian plates. The inferred Moho discontinuity depths are close to those estimated for other convergent areas. In addition, there is good agreement between our results and variations in orientations of regional seismic anisotropy. At depths of 80–180km, negative Vs anomalies at station CBBR suggest the existence of a failed subduction slab.

Identification of surface wave higher modes using a methodology based on seismic noise and coda waves

Dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves is performed to assess the velocity of complex structures such as sedimentary basins. At short periods several modes of the Rayleigh waves are often exited. To perform a reliable inversion of the velocity structure an identification of these modes is thus required. We propose a novel method to identify the modes of surface waves. We use the spectral ratio of the ground velocity for the horizontal components over the vertical component (H/V) measured on seismic coda. We then compare the observed values with the theoretical H/V ratio for velocity models deduced from surface wave dispersion when assuming a particular mode. We first invert the Rayleigh wave measurements retrieved from ambient noise cross-correlation with the assumptions that (1) the fundamental mode and (2) the first overtone are excited. Then we use these different velocity models to predict theoretical spectral ratios of the ground velocity for the horizontal components over the vertical component (H/V). These H/V ratios are computed under the hypothesis of equipartition of a diffuse field in a layered medium. Finally we discriminate between fundamental and higher modes by comparing the theoretical H/V ratio with the H/V ratio measured on seismic coda. In an application, we reconstruct Rayleigh waves from cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise recorded at seven broad-band stations in the Valley of Mexico. For paths within the soft quaternary sediments basin, the maximum energy is observed at velocities higher than expected for the fundamental mode. We identify that the dominant mode is the first higher mode, which suggests the importance of higher modes as the main vectors of energy in such complex structures.

Lithospheric structure beneath the central and western North China Craton and the adjacent Qilian orogenic belt from Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis

We used surface wave tomography to image the lithospheric S-wave velocity structure along a linear seismic array across the central and western North China Craton (NCC) and the adjacent Qilian orogenic belt (QB). Using waveform data from 8 earthquakes collected at 60 broadband stations, Rayleigh wave phase velocities were measured at periods of 20–120s and subsequently inverted for reliable S-wave velocities from 60 to 200km depth. Distinct lithospheric structures and marked lateral variations were revealed beneath the study region, correlating well with regional geological and tectonic features. The average S-wave velocity from 60 to 200km depth beneath the array is ~4.45km/s, ~1% lower than that in model AK135. High velocities of >4.45km/s are most pronounced beneath the stable Ordos Block (western NCC). However, the depth to which the observed high velocity body extends varies significantly laterally. It is deepest (~200km) under eastern Ordos, and becomes shallower on both sides along the array. The maximum depth of the high velocity body gradually shallows westward and reaches ~110km near the western edge of Ordos. This depth variation suggests a coexistence of both preserved and modified lithosphere in Ordos. The depth of high velocities decreases rapidly eastward by >80km over a lateral distance of <200km across the North–south Gravity Lineament (NSGL) in central NCC, supporting the speculation that the NSGL represents a major continental-lithospheric boundary. A stratified lithospheric mantle was revealed beneath QB, the ~2% low velocity anomaly above 100km depth may be attributed partially to a higher temperature here. Our study revealed rapid lithospheric structural variations beneath NSGL and the boundary zone between Ordos and QB, probably reflecting long-lived, inherited weaknesses in lithosphere that may have been enhanced by episodic tectonic reactivations during the evolution of NCC.

Shear-wave velocity structure of the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula from Rayleigh-wave dispersion analysis

The uppermost 50 km of the lithospheric structure of the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula is presented in this study, by means of a set of 2D images of shear-wave velocity for depths raging from 0 to 50 km. This goal will be attained by means of the inversion of the Rayleigh-wave dispersion. For this purpose, the 23 earthquakes occurred on the vicinity of the study area, from 2001 to 2003, will be considered. The dispersion curves of these earthquakes have been measured for periods from 2 to 45 s, by combination of two digital-filtering techniques: Multiple Filter Technique (MFT) and Time Variable Filtering (TVF). The resulting set of source-station averaged dispersion curves has been inverted according to the generalized inversion theory, to get S-wave velocity models for each source-station path. Finally, these models have been interpolated by kriging to obtain a 2D mapping of the S-wave velocity structure, for the northern part of Iberia. The results presented in this paper show that the crust of the study area consisted of three main layers of varying thickness with a clear S-velocity contrast, resulting in a Moho depth of 30 km that decreases to 25 km in the eastern border of the Iberian peninsula and to 20 km in the Valencia trough. The upper crust has a sedimentary cover of 2 km thick. This upper crust has a thickness of 8 km, showing a very small lateral variation. In the middle crust (from 10 to 20 km depth), the S-velocity increases from 3.4 km/s to 3.7 km/s for the whole study area except for the east and the Valencia trough, where the S-velocities reach values of 3.9 km/s. The lower crust (from 20 to 30 km depth), exhibits S-velocities of 3.8–3.9 km/s, which jump to 4.3–4.7 km/s in the upper mantle.

Pseudospectral modeling and dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves in viscoelastic media

Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) is one of the most widely used techniques in environmental and engineering geophysics to determine shear-wave velocities and dynamic properties, which is based on the elastic layered system theory. Wave propagation in the Earth, however, has been recognized as viscoelastic and the propagation of Rayleigh waves presents substantial differences in viscoelastic media as compared with elastic media. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out numerical simulation and dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves in viscoelastic media to better understand Rayleigh-wave behaviors in the real world. We apply a pseudospectral method to the calculation of the spatial derivatives using a Chebyshev difference operator in the vertical direction and a Fourier difference operator in the horizontal direction based on the velocity–stress elastodynamic equations and relations of linear viscoelastic solids. This approach stretches the spatial discrete grid to have a minimum grid size near the free surface so that high accuracy and resolution are achieved at the free surface, which allows an effective incorporation of the free surface boundary conditions since the Chebyshev method is nonperiodic. We first use an elastic homogeneous half-space model to demonstrate the accuracy of the pseudospectral method comparing with the analytical solution, and verify the correctness of the numerical modeling results for a viscoelastic half-space comparing the phase velocities of Rayleigh wave between the theoretical values and the dispersive image generated by high-resolution linear Radon transform. We then simulate three types of two-layer models to analyze dispersive-energy characteristics for near-surface applications. Results demonstrate that the phase velocity of Rayleigh waves in viscoelastic media is relatively higher than in elastic media and the fundamental mode increases by 10–16% when the frequency is above 10 Hz due to the velocity dispersion of P and S waves.

Crustal shear wave tomography of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, via ambient noise correlation between multiple three‐component networks

The central North Island of New Zealand is characterized by extension, high heat flow, and active volcanism caused by the Pacific plate subducting beneath the Australian plate off the east coast of the North Island. The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is the current locus of rifting and active volcanism. The shear velocity structure derived here from short‐period surface wave analysis fills a gap in the geophysical information obtained in previous active and passive source studies. Using ambient noise correlation techniques, we reprocess data from four three‐component temporary seismic arrays that were deployed between 2001 and 2005 in the central North Island and data from permanent seismic stations operational at the same time. Special attention has been paid to the correction of timing errors and incomplete instrument response information. Low shear velocities in the top 15–20 km of the crust inferred from Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis coincide with the presumed source regions of rhyolitic magma in the TVZ and are correlated with conductive bodies inferred from a 3‐D magnetotelluric survey. Based on the observed changes in shear velocity we use empirical relations to infer an average percentage of partial melt in the upper crust of &lt;4%. Comparison of our shear velocity model with compressional wave cross sections from active and passive source studies and shear velocities derived from previous 3‐D Vp and Vp/Vs models reveals several consistent features, especially in the lower crust. The greater sensitivity of shear velocity than compressional velocity to the presence of melt and other fluids aids in linking seismic and electromagnetic observations and provides additional constraints on the distribution of magmatic structures in active continental rifting environments.

Structure of the crust and uppermost mantle of the Yanshan Belt and adjacent regions at the northeastern boundary of the North China Craton from Rayleigh Wave Dispersion Analysis

We have used Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis and inversion to produce a high resolution S-wave velocity imaging profile of the crust and uppermost mantle structure beneath the northeastern boundary regions of the North China Craton (NCC). Using waveform data from 45 broadband NCISP stations, Rayleigh wave phase velocities were measured at periods from 10 to 48 s and utilized in subsequent inversions to solve for the S-wave velocity structure from 15 km down to 120 km depth. The inverted lower crust and uppermost mantle velocities, about 3.75 km/s and 4.3 km/s on average, are low compared with the global average. The Moho was constrained in the depth range of 30–40 km, indicating a typical crustal thickness along the profile. However, a thin lithosphere of no more than 100 km was imaged under a large part of the profile, decreasing to only ~ 60 km under the Inner Mongolian Axis (IMA) where an abnormally slow anomaly was observed below 60 km depth. The overall structural features of the study region resemble those of typical continental rift zones and are probably associated with the lithospheric reactivation and tectonic extension widespread in the eastern NCC during Mesozoic–Cenozoic time. Distinctly high velocities, up to ~ 4.6 km/s, were found immediately to the south of the IMA beneath the northern Yanshan Belt (YSB), extending down to > 100-km depth. The anomalous velocities are interpreted as the cratonic lithospheric lid of the region, which may have not been affected by the Mesozoic–Cenozoic deformation process as strongly as other regions in the eastern NCC. Based on our S-wave velocity structural image and other geophysical observations, we propose a possible lithosphere–asthenosphere interaction scenario at the northeastern boundary of the NCC. We speculate that significant undulations of the base of the lithosphere, which might have resulted from the uneven Mesozoic–Cenozoic lithospheric thinning, may induce mantle flows concentrating beneath the weak IMA zone. The relatively thick lithospheric lid in the northern YSB may serve as a tectonic barrier separating the on-craton and off-craton regions into different upper mantle convection systems at the present time.

Joint inversion of surface wave dispersion curves and reflection travel times via multi-objective evolutionary algorithms

Due to the character of seismic energy generation and propagation, shallow high-resolution seismic-reflection surveys often fail in the identification of the shallowest horizons and, due to the limited offsets, accuracy of velocity analyses is often not very high. In recent years, Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis have proved to have good potential also for near-surface applications but dispersion curve inversion and related uncertainty evaluation pose serious problems to a completely stand-alone application. In order to overcome these problems a joint inversion scheme is proposed, which is based on the identification of the Pareto front, performed in the framework of a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA). Seismic data considered to design the two objectives are the Rayleigh wave dispersion curve and reflection travel times. We initially analyse a set of synthetic cases and evaluate the obtained results. A significant improvement of the retrieved models is observed as long as reflection travel times are added to the dispersion curve alone. Furthermore, the proposed methodology also provides relevant indications about the consistency of the overall inversion process. In fact, the distribution of the models in the objective space, the trend of the objectives over the passing generations and the evolution of the Pareto front can provide useful information to evaluate the provisional tentative interpretation (number of strata and reflector identification) inherently adopted for the data inversion. On the basis of the results obtained from the tests on the synthetic datasets, the analyses of a field dataset are interpreted as possible evidence of lateral heterogeneities.

Shallow Seismic Velocity Structure of the Betic Cordillera (Southern Spain) from Modelling of Rayleigh Wave Dispersion

A detailed dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves generated by local earthquakes and occasionally by blasts that occurred in southern Spain, was undertaken to obtain the shear-wave velocity structure of the region at shallow depth. Our database includes seismograms generated by 35 seismic events that were recorded by 15 single-component short-period stations from 1990 to 1995. All these events have focal depths less than 10 km and body-wave magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0, and they were all recorded at distances between 40 and 300 km from the epicentre. We analysed a total of 90 source-station Rayleigh-wave paths. The collected data were processed by standard digital filtering techniques to obtain Rayleigh-wave group-velocity dispersion measurements. The path-averaged group velocities vary from 1.12 to 2.25 km/s within the 1.0-6.0 s period interval. Then, using a stochastic inversion approach we obtained 1-D shear-wave velocity–depth models across the study area, which were resolved to a depth of circa 5 km. The inverted shear-wave velocities range approximately between 1.0 and 3.8 km/s with a standard deviation range of 0.05–0.16 km/s, and show significant variations from region to region. These results were combined to produce 3-D images via volumetric modelling and data visualization. We present images that show different shear velocity patterns for the Betic Cordillera. Looking at the velocity distribution at various depths and at vertical sections, we discuss of the study area in terms of subsurface structure and S-wave velocity distribution (low velocity channels, basement depth, etc.) at very shallow depths (0–5 km). Our results characterize the region sufficiently and lead to a correlation of shear-wave velocity with the different geological units features.

Shallow crustal structure of Chicxulub impact crater imaged with seismic, gravity and magnetotelluric data: inferences about the central uplift

The structure of the onshore portion of the Chicxulub impact crater (Yucatan, Mexico) has been studied with seismic, gravity and magnetotelluric (MT) exploration methods. A dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves along a 150-km long, east–west profile permitted the shallow Tertiary cover to be imaged to a depth of 400 m. Three layers were mapped. The thickness of the first two layers increase as we approach the sinkhole ring from the exterior of the crater (consistent with the existence of a central basin). Those thicknesses change from 100–150 m outside the crater rim to more than 200 m in the terrace zone. At the crater centre, the first layer is again approximately 100 m thick and has a low shear wave velocity (approximately 1 km s−1). Its velocity is slightly larger in the rest of the profile. Outside the central basin, we observed a third layer with a shear wave velocity larger than 1.8 km s−1, but its thickness could not be determined. The velocity distribution along our profile increases monotonously with depth, without low-velocity layers. The inferred inward slope of the two shallow layers immediately outside the central basin correlates well with a smooth gravity gradient. In addition, we present results of detailed gravity measurements along a profile that coincides (in part) with the line covered by the seismic experiment. These gravity measurements were inverted to obtain a density model. In this model (which is of course non-unique), the steep gravity gradients are explained by the faults along which the slumping of the terrace blocks took place. Two of these may correspond to the faults observed at radial distances of 85 and 96 km in offshore seismic data. Finally, we show results obtained using MT soundings. They provide additional, independent constraints on the structure of the Chicxulub crater. MT soundings at the centre of the crater show a sharper increase in resistivity than elsewhere in the impact structure. This sharper increase in resistivity may be related to the uplifted basement of the structural high at a depth of 4 km. Only the MT soundings located over the central gravity high display this feature. Our three different data sets are independently consistent with the existence of a central structural high in the crater and support a twin-peak shape for this high.

Imaging of shear-wave velocity structure beneath Iberia

SUMMARY A detailed dispersion analysis of Rayleigh waves propagating across the Iberian Peninsula is carried out. The starting data are high-quality long-period data recorded at the broad-band NARS stations installed in the Iberian Peninsula during the ILIHA project. We apply methods to obtain a correct selection of data and subsequent twostation surface-wave velocity measurements. A total of 64 teleseismic events recorded by the NARS array and 143 seismic paths have been studied. Several techniques which provide a significant improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio are employed to remove higher-mode interference efficiently and improve the isolation of the fundamental-mode Rayleigh wave from the seismograms. Thereafter, the interstation Rayleigh wave phase and group velocities are determined. We perform simultaneous inversion of phase- and group-velocity dispersion data by means of the stochastic inverse operator, and test the reliability of the results by computing resolving kernels and also by forward modelling. A regionalization procedure based on the Backus-Gilbert approach for linear inversion of traveltime data is applied. Both the inversion results and the contoured shear-wave velocity panoramas display the main features of the deep structure of Iberia. We find a subcrustal low-velocity channel which extends over practically the whole peninsular area and spans a depth interval of approximately 40-50 km; it exhibits velocities of between 4.30 and 4.50 km s-'. At depths of 66-81 km, we find the highest velocities in the lithosphere, which reach values of 4.85 km s-' in many cases. The low-velocity channel of the asthenosphere spans a large depth interval of approximately 80-180 km; it shows the lowest velocity values computed by us. We find velocities decreasing with depth, which are of the order of 4.25-4.36 km spl for the first 40 km and of the order of 4.00-4.25 km s-' for the rest. The upper mantle under the asthenosphere exhibits high velocities, which range between 4.62 and 4.82 km sC1 in most cases. The shear-wave velocity structure of the Iberian subcrustal lithosphere and asthenosphere is mapped at 11 depth intervals from 24 to 201 km. At the top of the mantle, relatively low velocities span the Ebro Valley and also the southern third of the peninsula. Low velocities appear in the south-southwest quadrant, and high velocities occur over the Hercynian basement. At greater lithospheric depths, very low velocities extending over the whole peninsula suggest a low-velocity channel of non-uniform lateral structure, where a reduced zone to the west of the Iberian plateau shows relatively high velocities. At the greatest lithospheric depths, the whole Iberian block is fairly homogeneous laterally. The asthenosphere shows a notable lateral heterogeneity as well. We distinguish two parts: the upper asthenosphere, a 40 km thick layer with predominant velocity values of 4.25 km spl or more; and the lower asthenosphere, a 60 km thick layer with velocity values generally below 4.25 km sf'. The upper asthenosphere seems to be less laterally heterogeneous than the lower asthenosphere. The lower asthenosphere exhibits a more pronounced negative velocity gradient than the upper asthenosphere.