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Surface Wave Tomography of Southeast Asia

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Abstract

A study of the deep structure of the Earth’s crust and the upper mantle beneath Southeast Asia is presented from surface wave tomography data. A representative sample of dispersion curves of group velocities of Rayleigh (6522 seismic paths) and Love (4489 seismic paths) waves is compiled by frequency–time analysis in the range of periods of 10–250 s. The distribution of group velocities at some periods is calculated on the basis of this sample and using a two-dimensional tomography method for a spherical surface. A total of 18 maps are obtained for each wave type and their horizontal resolution is estimated. To facilitate the interpretation of these maps, local dispersion curves of Rayleigh and Love waves obtained from tomography are inverted to SV- and SH-wave velocity sections, respectively, for three different regions: the Tibetan plateau, the Indian plate, and the South China Sea. The resulting distributions of surface wave group velocities allow us to analyze the main large-scale structural features of the crust and upper mantle beneath Southeast Asia and associate the velocity inhomogeneities with different tectonic units. Specifically, at a period of 20 s, the minima of group velocities of Rayleigh and Love waves are found to be under regions characterized by a large thickness of sedimentary deposits. The minima and maxima of group velocities at a period of 50 s are mostly related to areas with thickened and thinned crusts, respectively. With an increase in the period to 150 s, the highest group velocity values are attributed to stable tectonic structures (Indian plate, Sino–Korean and South China platforms, and Tarim basin), and their lower values are observed beneath the marginal seas in the east of the study area and the Indochina Peninsula. At longer periods, the velocity variations become less expressed, which indicates a more homogeneous structure of the subasthenospheric layers of the upper mantle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation, Russian Academy of Sciences, 108840, Troitsk, Moscow, Russia

    A. I. Filippova

  2. Institute of the Earth’s Crust, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033, Irkutsk, Russia

    O. A. Solovey

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Filippova, A.I., Solovey, O.A. Surface Wave Tomography of Southeast Asia. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 57, 729–738 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433821070057

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