Three-dimensional velocity structure and earthquake locations beneath the northern Tien Shan of Kyrgyzstan, central Asia

We used the arrival times of local earthquakes and quarry blasts recorded by the Kyrgyzstan Broadband Network (KNET) to obtain three-dimensional (3-D) P and S wave velocity models of the upper crust beneath an actively deforming mountain front and its associated foreland in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan. The continuous velocity models, described by cubic B spline interpolation of the squared slowness over a regular 3-D grid, were computed by simultaneous inversion of hypocenter and medium parameters. Exact ray tracing was done in the smooth 3-D medium by shooting rays from the sources to the stations by an analytical perturbation method based on the paraxial ray theory. The deduced large, sparse, linear system was solved using the damped, iterative, least squares algorithm LSQR. The stability and resolution of the result was qualitatively tested by two synthetic tests: the spike test and the checkerboard resolution test. We found that the models are well resolved up to a depth of similar to 27 km for most parts of our image domain. The P and S wave velocity models are consistent with each other and provide evidence for marked heterogeneity in the upper crustal structure beneath the northern Tien Shan. At shallower depths (< 7 km) the sediment-filled foreland is imaged as a relatively lower velocity feature compared to the mountains, which are cored by crystalline basement rocks. In contrast, at midcrustal depths the mountains are underlain by relatively lower velocity materials compared to the foreland. A distinct contrast in velocity structure is also observed between the eastern and western parts of the Kyrgyz Range at midcrustal depths, with the presence of relatively higher velocities toward the east. The seismicity is concentrated near the traces of major active faults and extends deeper beneath the foreland compared to the mountains. The regional compression in the Tien Shan is accommodated along a series of high-angle reverse faults distributed throughout the orogenic system that extend from the surface down to midcrustal depths. The range-bounding fault zone can be identified by a sharp lateral gradient in seismic velocities with a pronounced southward dip combined with a zone of seismicity that also deepens to the south and reverse fault source mechanisms from moderate-sized events. A pronounced low-velocity zone (LVZ) is imaged in the P wave field, at midcrustal depths, beneath the western part of the Kyrgyz Range. This LVZ is presumably correlatable with reported high-conductivity zones in this region that have been proposed to mark active fault zones along which fluid migration occurs. The location of the LVZ, which is closely coincident with the depth of maximum earthquake generation, might imply that it is a crustal decoupling zone at the brittle-ductile transition.