Modeling the structure of the Earth’s deep interior from 3D wave simulations

Xiaodong Song, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Usage Details

Our knowledge about the interior of the Earth has primarily come from seismology. Developments on two fronts over the last decade, seismic interferometry from correlations of seismic noise and the computational advance of full wave field through 3D earth, have revolutionized our ability to determine the 3D structure of the Earth’s interior. Here we propose to take advantage of the two cutting-edge advances to sharpen up images of the Earth’s interior, focusing on two frontiers of the Earth: the deepest interior (the solid inner core) and the tallest mountains of the world (the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau).

We will use a spectral element method for 3D seismic wave propagation to determine the structure of the Earth’s deep interior: in particular, attenuation structure of the Tibetan Plateau and anisotropic structure of the inner core. Detailed 3D crustal and upper mantle structures provide critical means to address fundamental questions about the mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau formation and continental deformation with some of the most deadly earthquakes in the world. Detailed 3D anisotropic structure of the inner core is important for understanding the evolution of the planet and the generation of the Earth’s magnetic field.