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Constraints on crustal structure and complex Moho topography beneath Pinon Flat, California, from teleseismic receiver functions

G. Eli Baker, J. Bernard Minster, George Zandt and H. Gurrola
Constraints on crustal structure and complex Moho topography beneath Pinon Flat, California, from teleseismic receiver functions
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (December 1996) 86 (6): 1830-1844

Abstract

We use teleseismic P waves recorded at Pinon Flat Observatory (PFO) to constrain the three-dimensional crustal and upper-mantle velocity structure beneath the station. By forward modeling radial receiver function waveforms, we construct a one-dimensional crustal model that includes a significant shear-velocity inversion at 9 km in depth. Arrivals on the tangential components indicate dip of at least the uppermost discontinuity. Complicated Moho topography, deepening to the northwest of PFO, is suggested by azimuthal dependence of travel times and amplitudes of the receiver functions and travel times of crustal P-wave reverberations. Although fine derails cannot be resolved, each of those sets of observations plus mislocation vectors provide strong indications of abrupt Moho topography, possibly including step offsets of several kilometers. This is not only consistent with gravity data in implying Airy isostasy with compensation at Moho depth but extends that model to a much finer length scale than had been resolved.


ISSN: 0037-1106
EISSN: 1943-3573
Coden: BSSAAP
Serial Title: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
Serial Volume: 86
Serial Issue: 6
Title: Constraints on crustal structure and complex Moho topography beneath Pinon Flat, California, from teleseismic receiver functions
Affiliation: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States
Pages: 1830-1844
Published: 199612
Text Language: English
Publisher: Seismological Society of America, Berkeley, CA, United States
References: 43
Accession Number: 1997-020013
Categories: Solid-earth geophysics
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. sketch map
N31°00'00" - N34°00'00", W117°00'00" - W114°00'00"
N33°30'00" - N33°55'00", W117°00'00" - W116°30'00"
Secondary Affiliation: University of Arizona, USA, United StatesTexas Tech University, USA, United States
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2023, American Geosciences Institute.
Update Code: 199707

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