Variation of Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion and seismic heterogeneity of the Indian crust and uppermost mantle

Abstract

We present group velocity dispersion results from a study of regional fundamental mode Rayleigh waves propagating across the Indian region. 1-D, path-averaged dispersion measurements have been made for 1001 source-receiver paths and these combined to produce tomographic images between 15 and 45 s period. Because of the dense station coverage in peninsular India, these images have substantially higher lateral resolution for this region than is currently available from global and regional group velocity studies. Testing of the group velocity model shows that the average resolution across the region is about 7.5° for the periods used in this study. The tomographic maps demonstrate that while the Indian shield is characterized by high crustal and uppermost-mantle group velocities, comparatively lower velocities exist beneath the Himalaya due to the thickened crust and beneath the Gangetic plains caused by the mollasse sediments and recent alluvium cover in the Himalayan foredeep. Northeastern India north of the Shillong Plateau also displays higher velocities, similar to the south Indian shield, indicative of colder crust beneath the region. The northern Bay of Bengal shows extremely low velocities due to the thick sediment blanket of the Bengal fan. Likewise, the Katawaz Basin in southern Pakistan shows lower velocities that resemble those seen in the Bay of Bengal. The geometry of the velocity contours south of the Katawaz Basin closely matches the prograding Indus fan in the Arabian Sea. Finally, the Tibetan Plateau has lower group velocities compared to the Indian shield at all periods as a result of the thick crust beneath southern Tibet.