Joint Geophysical Imaging of the Utah Area Using Seismic Body Waves, Surface Waves and Gravity Data

We present a joint geophysical imaging method that makes use of seismic body wave arrival times, surface wave dispersion measurements, and gravity data to determine three-dimensional (3D) Vp and Vs models. An empirical relationship mapping densities to Vp and Vs for earth materials is used to link them together. The joint inversion method takes advantage of strengths of individual data sets and is able to better constrain the velocity models from shallower to greater depths. Combining three different data sets to jointly invert for the velocity structure is equivalent to a multiple-objective optimization problem. Because it is unlikely that the different “objectives” (data types) would be optimized by the same parameter choices, some trade-off between the objectives is needed. The optimum weighting scheme for different data types is based on relative uncertainties of individual observations and their sensitivities to model parameters. We will apply this joint inversion method to determine 3D Vp and Vs models of the Utah area. The seismic body wave arrival times are assembled from waveform data recorded by the University of Utah Seismograph Stations (UUSS) regional network for the past 7 years. The surface wave dispersion measurements are obtained from the ambient noise tomography study by the University of Colorado group using EarthScope/USArray stations. The gravity data for the Utah area is extracted from the North American Gravity Database managed by the University of Texas at El Paso. The preliminary study using the seismic body wave arrival times indicates strong low velocity anomalies in middle crust beneath some known geothermal sites in Utah. The joint inversion is expected to produce a reasonably well-constrained velocity structure of the Utah area, which is helpful for characterizing and exploring existing and potential geothermal reservoirs.