A crustal seismic velocity model for the UK, Ireland and surrounding seas

Geophysical Journal International
By: , and 

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Abstract

A regional model of the 3-D variation in seismic P-wave velocity structure in the crust of NW Europe has been compiled from wide-angle reflection/refraction profiles. Along each 2-D profile a velocity–depth function has been digitised at 5 km intervals. These 1-D velocity functions were mapped into three dimensions using ordinary kriging with weights determined to minimise the difference between digitised and interpolated values. An analysis of variograms of the digitised data suggested a radial isotropic weighting scheme was most appropriate. Horizontal dimensions of the model cells are optimised at 40 × 40 km and the vertical dimension at 1 km. The resulting model provides a higher resolution image of the 3-D variation in seismic velocity structure of the UK, Ireland and surrounding areas than existing models. The construction of the model through kriging allows the uncertainty in the velocity structure to be assessed. This uncertainty indicates the high density of data required to confidently interpolate the crustal velocity structure, and shows that for this region the velocity is poorly constrained for large areas away from the input data.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A crustal seismic velocity model for the UK, Ireland and surrounding seas
Series title Geophysical Journal International
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2007.03569.x
Volume 171
Issue 3
Year Published 2007
Language English
Publisher Oxford Academic
Description 13 p.
First page 1172
Last page 1184
Country United Kingdom, Ireland
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