A semi-automated method for the detection of seismic anisotropy at depth via receiver function analysis

Information about seismic anisotropy is embedded in the variation of the amplitude of the Ps pulses as a function of the azimuth, on both the Radial and the Transverse components of teleseismic receiver functions (RF). We develop a semi-automatic method to constrain the presence and the depth of anisotropic layers beneath a single seismic broad-band station. An algorithm is specifically designed to avoid trial and error methods and subjective crustal parametrizations in RF inversions, providing a suitable tool for large-size data set analysis. The algorithm couples together information extracted from a 1-D VS profile and from a harmonic decomposition analysis of the RF data set. This information is used to determine the number of anisotropic layers and their approximate position at depth, which, in turn, can be used to, for example, narrow the search boundaries for layer thickness and S-wave velocity in a subsequent parameter space search. Here, the output of the algorithm is used to invert an RF data set by means of the Neighbourhood Algorithm (NA). To test our methodology, we apply the algorithm to both synthetic and observed data.We make use of synthetic RF with correlated Gaussian noise to investigate the resolution power for multiple and thin (1-3 km) anisotropic layers in the crust. The algorithm successfully identifies the number and position of anisotropic layers at depth prior the NA inversion step. In the NA inversion, strength of anisotropy and orientation of the symmetry axis are correctly retrieved. Then, the method is applied to field measurement from station BUDO in the Tibetan Plateau. Two consecutive layers of anisotropy are automatically identified with our method in the first 25-30 km of the crust. The data are then inverted with the retrieved parametrization. The direction of the anisotropic axis in the uppermost layer correlates well with the orientation of the major planar structure in the area. The deeper anisotropic layer is associated with an older phase of crustal deformation. Our results are compared with previous anisotropic RF studies at the same station, showing strong similarities.