First step towards an integrated geophysical-geological model of the W-Alps: A new Vs model from transdimensional ambient-noise tomography
Authors: Nouibat Ahmed , Stehly Laurent , Paul Anne , Brossier Romain , Bodin Thomas , Schwartz Stéphane , Working Group AlpArray 
Published: March 2021

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;We have successfully derived a new &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;3-D&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; high resolution shear wave velocity model of the crust and uppermost mantle of a large part of W-Europe from transdimensional&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ambient-noise tomography. This model is intended to contribute to the development of the first &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;3-D&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; crustal-scale integrated geophysical-geological model of the W-Alps to deepen understanding of orogenesis and its relationship to mantle dynamics. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;We used an exceptional dataset of 4 years of vertical-component, daily seismic noise records (2015 - 2019) of more than 950 permanent broadband seismic stations located in and around the Greater Alpine region, complemented by 490 temporary stations from the AlpArray sea-land seismic network and 110 stations from Cifalps dense deployments.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;We firstly performed a &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;2-D&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; data-driven transdimensional travel time inversion for group velocity maps from 4 to 150 s (Bodin &amp; Sambridge, 2009). The data noise level was treated as a parameter of the inversion problem, and determined within a Hierarchical Bayes method. We used Fast Marching Eikonal solver (Rawlinson &amp; Sambridge, 2005) jointly with the reversible jump algorithm to update raypath geometry during inversion. In the inversion of group velocity maps for shear-wave velocity, we set up a new formulation of the&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; approach proposed by Lu et al (2018) by including group velocity uncertainties. Posterior probability distributions on &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Vs&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; and interfaces were estimated by exploring a set of 130 millions synthetic &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;4-&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;layer &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;1-D Vs&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; models that allow for &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;low-velocity zones&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; The obtained probabilistic model was refined using a linearized inversion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;For the ocean-bottom seismometers of the Ligurian-Provencal basin, we applied a specific processing to clean daily noise signals from instrumental and oceanic noises (Crawford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; Webb, 2000) and adapted the inversion for Vs to include the water column.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our Vs model evidences strong variations of the crustal structure along strike, particulary in the subduction complex. The European crust includes lower crustal low-velocity zones and a Moho jump of ~8-12 km beneath the W-boundary of the external crystalline massifs. We observe a deep LVZ&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;structure (50 - 80 km) in the prolongation&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;of the European continental subduction beneath the Ivrea body. The striking fit between the receiver functions ccp migrated section across the Cifalps profile and this new Vs model validate its reliability.&lt;/p&gt;