Scattering Attenuation of the Martian Interior through Coda-Wave Analysis

We investigate the scattering attenuation characteristics of the Martian crust and uppermost mantle to understand the structure of the Martian interior. We examine the energy decay of the spectral envelopes for 21 high-quality Martian seismic events from sols 128 to 500 of InSight operations. We use the model of Dainty, Toksoz, et al. (1974) to approximate the behavior of energy envelopes resulting from scattered wave propagation through a single diffusive layer over an elastic half-space. Using a grid search, we mapped the layer parameters that fit the observed InSight data envelopes. The single diffusive layer model provided better fits to the observed energy envelopes for high-frequency (HF) and veryhigh-frequency (VF) than for the low-frequency and broadband events. This result is consistent with the suggested source depths (Giardini et al., 2020) for these families of events and their expected interaction with a shallow scattering layer. The shapes of the observed data envelopes do not show a consistent pattern with event distance, suggesting that the diffusivity and scattering layer thickness is nonuniform in the vicinity of InSight at Mars. Given the consistency in the envelope shapes between HF and VF events across epicentral distances and the trade-offs between the parameters that control scattering, the dimensions of the scattering layer remain unconstrained but require that scattering strength decreases with depth and that the rate of decay in scattering strength is the fastest near the surface. This is generally consistent with the processes that would form scattering structures in planetary lithospheres.

Automated summary

Research on the scattering attenuation characteristics of the Martian crust and uppermost mantle reveals that the scattering strength of the Martian scattering layer varies with depth and decays fastest near the surface. The shapes of observed data envelopes do not exhibit a consistent pattern with event distance, indicating the non-uniformity of scattering layer thickness and diffusivity near InSight on Mars.