A New Seismic Data Set on the Depth of the Moho in the Alps

Author(s)
Irene Bianchi, Michael Behm, Eva Maria Rumpfhuber, Götz Bokelmann
Abstract

We present the results from receiver function analysis applied to a comprehensive data set in the Eastern Alps. Teleseismic events were recorded at 70 stations with an average deployment of 1 year. The investigated area includes the eastern part of the Eastern Alps and their transition to the Bohemian Massif, the Pannonian domain, and the Southern Alps. The crustal structure at each station is examined with the Zhu-Kanamori (ZK) method, which yields well-resolved interface depths in laterally homogeneous media with limited layering. The application of the ZK technique is challenged because of the complex tectonic setting; therefore, we include additional constraints from recent active-source seismic studies. In particular, the well-known crustal P-wave velocity and, where available, the V (p)/V (s) ratio are kept fixed, thus reducing the ambiguity in determining Moho depths. Individual depth values vary strongly between adjacent stations, showing that the employment of the ZK technique in tectonically complex settings is limited. We therefore avoid interpreting the results in detail, but rather compare them to existing crustal models of the Eastern Alps. We regard this receiver function study in the easternmost part of the Alps as a documentation of a data set that has potential to be exploited in the future.

Organisation(s)
Department of Meteorology and Geophysics
External organisation(s)
ExxonMobil, Colorado School of Mines
Journal
Pure and Applied Geophysics
Volume
172
Pages
295-308
No. of pages
14
ISSN
0033-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-014-0953-1
Publication date
02-2015
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
105126 Applied geophysics, 105122 Seismic, 105124 Tectonics, 105102 General geophysics
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Geochemistry and Petrology, Geophysics
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/e5d3cf7e-85df-46fd-82f3-c3a4b4215aba