Hamdi Alkan

Lithospheric structure of the Aegean region from simultaneous inversion of P- and S-receiver functions: results from the records of different band types

Abstract The Aegean region is a key component of the Eastern Mediterranean basin and covers the subduction of the African Lithospheric Plate beneath the Aegean along the Hellenic Arc and the western movement of the Anatolian Plate. In this research, simultaneous inversion of teleseismic P- and S-Receiver Functions (RFs) is used to investigate the crust and upper mantle structure of the Aegean region. For this purpose, data from the different band-type seismic stations arranged along the Hellenic Arc are used to calculate receiver functions. The study involves 452 P-Receiver Functions and 237 S-Receiver Functions from 8 stations. Although the seismic stations are nearby, the S-wave velocity models in the south and north turn out to have different structural discontinuities. Also, the results of stacking P-Receiver Functions indicate the significant Ps and Sp phases from the Aegean Moho and the African Slab. The Moho depth of the African Slab along the Hellenic Arc ranges from 45 to 56 km, with an average crustal shear wave velocity of Vs = 4.5 km/s. The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is observed at depths of approximately 155 km around the Hellenic Arc and corresponds to the subduction of the African Slab. However, the LAB depths of the eastern and western stations are consistent with the Anatolian and mainland Greece. Finally, these observations can be interpreted as part of the African subduction system and the Anatolian lithospheric system in the study region.

Doi https://doi.org/10.5200/baltica.2025.2.8

Keywords Aegean Sea; receiver function; joint inversion; Moho; lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB)