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ABSTRACT The receiver function (RF) is a widely used crustal imaging technique. In principle, it assumes relatively noise-free traces that can be used to target receiver-side structures following source deconvolution. In practice, however, mode conversions and reflections may be severely degraded by noisy conditions, hampering robust estimation of crustal parameters. In this study, we use a sparsity-promoting Radon transform to decompose the observed RF traces into their wavefield contributions, that is, direct conversions, multiples, and incoherent noise. By applying a crustal mask on the Radon-transformed RF, we obtain noise-free RF traces with only Moho conversions and reflections. We demonstrate, using a synthetic experiment and a real-data example from the Sierra Nevada, that our approach can effectively denoise the RFs and extract the underlying Moho signals. This greatly improves the robustness of crustal structure recovery as exemplified by subsequent H−κ stacking. We further demonstrate, using a station sitting on loose sediments in the Upper Mississippi embayment, that a combination of our approach and frequency-domain filtering can significantly improve crustal imaging in reverberant settings. In the presence of complex crustal structures, for example, dipping Moho, intracrustal layers, and crustal anisotropy, we recommend caution when applying our proposed approach due to the difficulty of interpreting a possibly more complicated Radon image. We expect that our technique will enable high-resolution crustal imaging and inspire more applications of Radon transforms in seismic signal processing.
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A Generalized H‐κ Method With Harmonic Corrections on Ps and Its Crustal Multiples in Receiver Functions
Abstract TheH‐κmethod (Zhu & Kanamori, 2000,https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JB900322) has been widely used to estimate the crustal thickness (H) and the ratio ofPtoSvelocities (VP/VSratio,κ) with receiver functions. However, in regions where the crustal structure is complicated, the method may produce biased results, arising particularly from dipping Moho and/or crustal anisotropy.H‐κstacking in case of azimuthal or radial anisotropy with flat Moho has been proposed but not for cases with plunging anisotropy and dipping Moho. Here we propose a generalizedH‐κmethod calledH‐κ‐c, which corrects for these effects first before stacking. We consider rather general cases, including plunging anisotropy and dipping interfaces of multiple layers, and use harmonic functions to correct for arrival time variations ofPsand its crustal multiples with back azimuth (θ). Systematic synthetic tests show that the arrival time variations can be well fitted by cosθand cos2θfunctions even for very complex crustal structures. Correcting for the back azimuthal variations significantly enhancesH‐κstacking. We verify the feasibility of theH‐κ‐c method by applying it to 40 permanent stations in various geological setting across the Mainland China. The results show clear improvement after the harmonic corrections, with clearer multiples and stronger stacking energy, as well as more reliableH‐κvalues. Large differences inH(up to 5.0 km) andκ(up to 0.09) between the new and traditional methods occur mostly in mountainous regions, where the crustal structure tends to be more complex. We caution in particular about systematic bias when the traditional method is used in the presence of dipping interfaces. The modified method is simple and applicable anywhere in the world.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1620595
- PAR ID:
- 10371617
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
- Volume:
- 124
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2169-9313
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 3782-3801
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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