Worldwide distribution of group velocity of mantle Rayleigh waves as determined by spherical harmonic inversion

Abstract

abstract We have determined the worldwide distribution of group velocity of mantle Rayleigh waves for periods between 100 and 300 sec without assuming any regionalization. Group slowness 1/u(θ, φ) is expressed by spherical harmonics, and the coefficients, up to angular order 7, have been determined from travel times of Rayleigh waves by a least-squares method. From these, u(θ, φ) has been synthesized. Since we cannot obtain information about the odd terms of the expansion from one circuit measurements around the world, we have used group velocities of mainly R2 and R3. The overall pattern of u(θ, φ) for periods between 100 and 200 sec is consistent with results of previous pure-path and regional studies. Group velocities for tectonically active regions are low, and those of the shields and the northwestern Pacific are high.