Crustal structure of the Tibetan Plateau: A surface-wave study by a moving window analysis

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Abstract
Group velocities of fundamental-mode Rayleigh and Love waves are analyzed to construct a crustal structure of the Tibetan Plateau. A moving window analysis is employed to compute group velocities in a wide period range of 7 to 100 sec for 17 individual paths. The crustal models derived from these dispersion data indicate that under the Tibetan Plateau the total crustal thickness is about 70 km and that the crustal velocities are generally low. The low velocities are most probably caused by high temperatures. A low-velocity zone located at an intermediate depth within the crust appears to be strongly demanded by the observed dispersion data. The main features of the proposed crustal structure will place stringent constraints on future tectonic models of the Tibetan Plateau which is generally regarded as a region of active deformation due to the continent-continent collision between India and Asia.