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Seismologists combine the so-called receiver functions and surface wave data to improve the general understanding of crustal and upper mantle structure in various regions of the world. An important humanitarian objective of obtaining improved structural models is better understanding of the seismicity and hazard assessment for the region of study. Receiver functions are mostly sensitive to sharp gradients in Earth's elastic properties (such as the Moho discontinuity), while surface wave data contribute to a better understanding of overall seismic wave speeds.

We are working to develop a reliable method for the joint modeling of these two types of data, possibly with independent information from seismic "noise".

This project will focus on applying this method to the data collected by the seismic stations at various regions to better constrain crustal and upper mantle structure, including features such as the crustal thickness, upper mantle low-velocity zone and transverse isotropy (polarization anisotropy).