Sedimentary and upper crustal structure of Australia from receiver functions

Abstract

The initial coda of teleseismic P-waves contains considerable information about the crust and upper mantle structure directly beneath a receiver. When this information can be recovered for a dense network of seismographs much can be learned about the structure of the earth. Data from the high quality broadband seismic stations of the SKIPPY and KIMBA projects along with permanent stations are used to investigate the upper crustal structure of Australia. A dataset of 65 shear-velocity models derived from receiver functions has enabled the sedimentary and upper crustal structure of Australia to be summarised. Regions of thick soft sediment show good agreement with topographical lows. A simple relation between upper-crustal velocity and magnetisation, as has been suggested by other investigators, has not been observed, but this may be due to the magnetic signal being muted by overlying sediments. A prominent mid-crustal discontinuity is apparent in the Tasman and New England mega-elements. This may represent a mid-crustal decollement that had structural control during accretion.