Crustal structure of the Iceland region from dispersion of surface waves

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Abstract
A number of Icelandic records of earthquakes originating in the Mid-Atlantic Seismic Belt between 52° and 70° N. lat. have been investigated. The surface waves on these records are chiefly in the period interval 3–10 sec, and are first mode Love-waves and Rayleigh-waves. The surface wave dispersion can be explained by a three-layered crustal structure as follows. A surface layer of S-wave velocity about 2.7 km/sec covering the whole region studied, a second layer of S-wave velocity about 3.6 km/sec covering Iceland and extending several hundred kilometers off the coasts and a third layer of S-wave velocity about 4.3 km/sec and P-wave velocity about 7.4 km/sec underlying the whole region. The thickness of the surface layer appears to be about 4 km on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of Iceland and in western Iceland, 3 km in central Iceland and 7 km northwest of Iceland. The second layer is apparently of similar thickness than the surface layer, while the third layer is thick; and the surface wave dispersion does not indicate any layer of higher wave velocity. This 7.4-layer is supposed to belong to the mantle, although its wave velocity is significantly lower than usually found in the upper mantle

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