Reference seismic crustal model of the Dinarides

Abstract

Abstract. Continental collision zones are structurally one of the most heterogeneous areas intermixing various different units within a relatively small space. A good example of this is the Dinarides, a mountain chain situated in the central Mediterranean, where thick carbonates cover older crystalline basement units and remnants of subducted oceanic crust. This is further complicated by the highly variable crustal thickness ranging from 20 to almost 50 km. In terms of spatial extension, this area is relatively small but covers tectonically differentiated domains making, any seismic or geological analysis complex, with significant challenges in areas that lack seismic information on crustal structure. Presently there is no comprehensive 3D crustal model of the Dinarides (and surrounding areas). Using the compilations of previous studies and employing kriging interpolation, we created a vertically and laterally varying crustal model defined on a regular grid for the wider area of the Dinarides, also covering parts of Adriatic Sea and the SW part of the Pannonian Basin. The model is divided by three interfaces, Neogene deposit bottom, carbonate rock complex bottom and Moho discontinuity, with seismic velocities (P and S waves) and density defined at each grid point. To validate the newly derived model, we calculated travel times for an earthquake recorded on several seismic stations in the Dinarides area. The calculated travel times show significant improvement when compared to the simple 1D model used for routine earthquake location in Croatia. The model derived in this work represents the first step towards improving our knowledge of the crustal structure in the complex area of the Dinarides. We hope that the newly assembled model will be useful for all forthcoming studies (e.g., as a starting model for seismic tomography, as a model for earthquake simulations) which require knowledge of the crustal structure.