Masters Theses
Keywords and Phrases
Receiver function; Southwestern United States
Abstract
"Over the past decades, the seismic structure of the crust and upper mantle of the southwestern United States was examined using an array of different methods. The structure and composition of crust received special attentions, most due to the hydrocarbon reserves in this area. Here new constraints on crustal evolution and structure models are provide by systematically analyzing 37,402 receiver functions recorded at 234 seismic stations on the southwestern United States. The results reveal that the Transitional Crust is characterized by a thin (29.0±1.0 km) crust, a low Vp/Vs ratio of 1.76±0.016 and a high amplitude (R) of P-to-S converted waves (relative to that of the direct P wave) of 0.258±0.028, consistent with the model that the thin crust was the consequence of lithospheric stretching during the opening of the Gulf of Mexico and that this area is covered by a thick sedimentary layer."--Abstract, page iii.
Advisor(s)
Gao, Stephen S.
Committee Member(s)
Liu, Kelly H.
Anderson, Neil L. (Neil Lennart), 1954-
Department(s)
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Degree Name
M.S. in Geology and Geophysics
Publisher
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Publication Date
Summer 2014
Pagination
vii, 41 pages
Note about bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 36-40).
Geographic Coverage
Southwestern States
Rights
© 2014 Si Wu, All rights reserved.
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
File Type
text
Language
English
Subject Headings
Seismic waves -- Mathematical modelsGeology, Structural -- Southwestern States
Thesis Number
T 10526
Electronic OCLC #
894586737
Recommended Citation
Wu, Si, "A receiver function study of crust thickness and composition beneath the southwestern United States" (2014). Masters Theses. 7291.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/7291