Crustal shear wave velocity structure in the northeastern Tibet based on the Neighbourhood algorithm inversion of receiver functions

The northeastern (NE) Tibet records and represents the far-field deformation response of the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates in the Cenozoic time. Over the past two decades, studies have revealed the existence of thickened crust in the NE Tibet, but the thickening mechanism is still in debate. We deployed a passive-source seismic profile with 22 temporary broad-band seismic stations in the NE Tibet to investigate the crustal shear wave velocity structure in this region. We selected 288 teleseismic events located in the west Pacific subduction zone near Japan with similar ray path to calculate P-wave receiver functions. Neighbourhood algorithm method is applied to invert the shear wave velocity beneath stations. The inversion result shows a low-velocity zone (LVZ) is roughly confined to the Songpan Ganzi block and Kunlun mountains and extends to the southern margin of Gonghe basin. Considering the low P-wave velocity revealed by the wide-angle reflection refraction seismic experiment and high ratio of Vp/Vs based on H-k grid searching of the receiver functions in this profile, LVZ may be attributed to partial melting induced by temperature change. This observation appears to be consistent with the crustal ductile deformation in this region derived from other geophysical investigations.