Collaborative Research: High-resolution receiver function imaging of crustal structure in the Southern Great Basin, Nevada

美国西部不断受到板块构造力的影响而变形。在以内华达州南半部为中心的这一研究区域，内华达州特征性的交替山脉和山谷形成于过去地壳的拉伸，以及最近美国西部沿海地区相对于大陆核心的向西北运动。 造成圣安德烈亚斯断层的西北板块运动也部分地被加利福尼亚/内华达州边界地区的断层系统所适应。 在15至30公里深处，下地壳岩石处于足够高的温度和压力下变形而不会发生脆性破坏。 断层活动和地表运动与下地壳变形的关系在很大程度上是未知的。我们的研究将使用来自内华达州大学里诺南部大盆地数字地震网络的地震记录来研究这一过程。这个网络检测来自世界各地的地震信号，这些信号经过研究区域下地壳结构的修改。通过观察来自不同方向的地震信号之间的差异，研究人员可以发现下地壳发生变形过程的迹象。在地壳的拉伸和剪切过程中，下地壳有几种表现方式。在估计莫霍面深度和探测地壳各向异性的方法中，接收函数是最好的方法之一。利用内华达州大学收集的数据集，里诺的短周期，密集，长期运行的南方大盆地数字地震网络，他们进行了一项试点研究，表明可以从数据中获得高质量的接收器功能。接收器函数显示来自莫霍面以及地壳结构的到达，并指示各向异性、散射和三维结构的存在。该项目计划应用多通道叠加技术，包括各向异性探测技术、用于接收器函数计算的新的自举窗口技术和数值正演模拟，以区分散射和各向异性转换，并探测与构造过程有关的地壳结构。接收器功能将根据该地区的永久和临时宽带站进行校准，包括在同一网络中与短期传感器共址的少数宽带站。 地壳结构和各向异性的研究结果将在构造历史和发展的背景下解释西南内华达州和东部加州，特别是一般的低地壳变形。区分哪些过程是在这个研究领域的运作可能有助于其他地球科学家谁看变形大陆地壳了解类似的活动在他们的领域。了解地壳变形，包括下地壳发生的情况，是研究美国和其他地方断层和地震的基础。

The western United States is continuously being deformed by plate tectonicforces. In this study area centered on the southern half of Nevada, thecharacteristic alternating ranges and valleys of Nevada were formed inthe past by stretching of the Earth's crust, and more recently, thenorthwestward motion of the western US coastal regions relative to thecore of the continent. Northwestward plate motion responsible for the SanAndreas Fault is partly also accommodated by a fault system in theCalifornia/Nevada border area. At 15 to 30 km depth, lower crustalrocks are under high enough temperature and pressure to deform withoutbrittle failure. How faulting and surface motions relate to lower crustaldeformation is largely unknown. Our study will use seismic recordings from the University of Nevada, Reno Southern Great Basin Digital Seismic Network to study this process. This network detects signals from worldwide earthquakes after they are modified by the structure of the crustunder the study area. By looking at the differences betweenearthquake signals arriving from different directions, the researchers can find signs of the deformation processes occuring in the lower crust. There areseveral ways in which the lower crust could behave during stretching andshearing of the crust. mong methods to estimate Moho depth and to detectand measure crustal anisotropy, receiver functions offer one of the bestoptions. Using a data set collected by the University of Nevada, Reno'sshort-period, dense, long-running Southern Great Basin Digital SeismicNetwork, they performed a pilot study showing that high-quality receiver functions can be obtained from the data. The receiver functions show arrivals from the Moho as well as from crustal structure, and indicate the presence of anisotropy, scattering, and 3-dimensional structure. The project plan is to apply multichannel stacking techniques, including ones specific to anisotropy detection, a new bootstrap windowing technique for receiver function calculation, and numerical forward modeling in order to distinguish scattering from anisotropic conversions and to detect crustal structures associated with tectonic processes. Receiver functions will be calibrated against permanent and temporary broadband stations in the area, including a handful of broadband stations colocated with the short-period sensors in the same network. Crustal structure and anisotropy findings will be interpreted in the context of the tectonic history and development of southwest Nevada and eastern California in particular, and lower crustal deformation in general.Distinguishing which processes are operating in thisstudy area may help other geoscientists who look at deforming continentalcrust understand similar activity in their field areas. Understandingcrustal deformation, including what happens in the lower crust, isfoundational for studies of faulting and earthquakes in the US andelsewhere.