Teleseismic Body-Wave Attenuation Beneath the Conterminous United States
from Analysis of EarthScope Transportable Array data
Abstract
Much information about the North American lithosphere has been gained by
imaging seismic wave velocities. Additional constraints on the state of
the subsurface can be gained by studying seismic attenuation, which has
different sensitivity to physical properties. We produce a model of
lateral variations in attenuation across the conterminous U.S. by
analyzing P waveforms from deep earthquakes recorded by the EarthScope
Transportable Array using a time-domain waveform matching approach. We
divide the study area into 12 overlapping tiles and differential
attenuation is measured in each tile independently; with analysis being
repeated independently for 4 of the tiles. Measurements are combined
into a smooth map using a linear inversion. Comparing results for
adjacent tiles and for repeated tiles shows that the imaged features are
robust. The final map is produced by combining all the measurements and
shows generally higher attenuation west of the Rocky Mountain Front than
east of it, with significant small length scale variations superimposed
on that broad pattern. In general, there is a strong anticorrelation
between differential attenuation and shear wave velocities at 90 km
depth. However, a given change in velocity may correspond to large or
small change in attenuation, depending on the area; suggesting that
different physical mechanisms are operating. In some cases, most notably
in the Snake River Plain, attenuation and velocity do not show the
expected anticorrelation. The southern Intermountain Seismic Belt
coincides with a high gradient in the attenuation signal, but even
larger gradients further inland do not show any association with
seismicity.