Browsing by Author "Grand, Stephen P."

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    Full-waveform inversion of triplicated data using a normalized-correlation-coefficient-based misfit function
    (Oxford University Press, 2017) Tao, Kai; Grand, Stephen P.; Niu, Fenglin
    In seismic full-waveform inversion (FWI), the choice of misfit function determines what information in data is used and ultimately affects the resolution of the inverted images of the Earth's structure. Misfit functions based on traveltime have been successfully applied in global and regional tomographic studies. However, wave propagation through the upper mantle results in multiple phases arriving at a given receiver in a narrow time interval resulting in complicated waveforms that evolve with distance. To extract waveform information as well as traveltime, we use a misfit function based on the normalized correlation coefficient (CC). This misfit function is able to capture the waveform complexities in both phase and relative amplitude within the measurement window. It is also insensitive to absolute amplitude differences between modeled and recorded data, which avoids problems due to uncertainties in source magnitude, radiation pattern, receiver site effects or even miscalibrated instruments. These features make the misfit function based on normalized CC a good candidate to achieve high-resolution images of complex geological structures when interfering phases coexist in the measurement window, such as triplication waveforms. From synthetic tests, we show the advantages of this misfit function over the cross-correlation traveltime misfit function. Preliminary inversion of data from an earthquake in Northeast China images a sharper and stronger amplitude slab stagnant in the middle of the transition zone than FWI of cross-correlation traveltime.
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    Lg attenuation in northeast China using NECESSArray data
    (Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society, 2015) Ranasinghe, Nishath R.; Gallegos, Andrea C.; Trujillo, Andrea R.; Blanchette, Alexander R.; Sandvol, Eric A.; Ni, James; Hearn, Thomas M.; Tang, Youcai; Grand, Stephen P.; Niu, Fenglin; Chen, Yongshun J.; Ning, Jieyuan; Kawakatsu, Hitoshi; Tanaka, Satoru; Obayashi, Masayuki
    The 127 station NorthEast China Extended SeiSmic Array (NECESSArray) provides large quantities of high quality seismic data in northeast China that allow us to resolve lateral variations of Lg Q or crustal attenuation at 1 Hz (Qo) to 2.0° or greater. Using the reverse two-station/event method with 11 642 Lg path-amplitudes from 78 crustal earthquakes, we obtain a 2-D tomographic image of Lg Qo with values ranging from ∼50 to 1400. A high degree of detail in the lateral variation of Lg attenuation is revealed in our tomographic image. High Qo regions are found in the Great Xing'an, Lesser Xing'an and Songen-Zhangguangcai Ranges. Low Qo regions are observed in the Songliao, Sanjiang and Erlian Basins. The lowest Qo is found near the Wudalianchi volcanic field and other Quaternary volcanic fields, the southern Songliao Basin, the western edge of the Erlian Basin and the Sanjiang Basin. Low Qo values are measured for paths that cross sedimentary basins with thick, unconsolidated sediments. Most of the high Lg attenuation in the Songliao Basin correlates reasonably well with low crustal Rayleigh wave phase velocity anomalies. The highest attenuating regions also correlate well with regions of Holocene volcanism..
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    Seismic Structure of the Upper Mantle Beneath Eastern Asia From Full Waveform Seismic Tomography
    (Wiley, 2018) Tao, Kai; Grand, Stephen P.; Niu, Fenglin
    To better understand the subsurface behavior of subducting slabs and their relation to the tectonic evolution of the overriding plate, we conduct a full waveform inversion on a large data set to determine a high‐resolution seismic model, FWEA18 (Full Waveform inversion of East Asia in 2018), of the upper mantle beneath eastern Asia. FWEA18 reveals sharper, more intense high‐velocity slabs in the upper mantle under the southern Kuril, Japan, and Ryukyu arcs, than previous studies have found. The subducting Pacific plate is imaged as a roughly 100 km thick high‐velocity slab to near 550 km depth indicating relatively little deformation. Stagnation near 600 km depth is observed over horizontal distances of 600 km or less. The Pacific plate we image accounts for roughly 25 Myr of subduction with older slab likely located in the lower mantle. The Philippine plate, subducting beneath the Ryukyu Islands, has a clear termination at about 450 km depth. This may indicate a tearing event in the past or that less Philippine Sea plate has subducted than previously thought. We found a double‐layer high‐velocity anomaly above and below 660 km under the Yellow Sea and eastern coast of North China. This may correspond to parts of the Philippine Sea plate that detached in the past and Pacific plate that have intersected at depth or a complicated behavior of the Pacific plate at that depth. Slow cylindrical anomalies cross the entire upper mantle are imaged beneath major Holocene volcanoes, which are likely upwellings associated with the edges of deep slabs that are entering the lower mantle.