Ambient seismic noise tomography of Jeju Island, South Korea

Abstract:

Jeju Island, formed by Cenozoic basaltic eruptions, is an island off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. This volcanic island is far from the plate boundaries and the fundamental cause of the volcanic activity in this region is not understood well. To understand the origin of the island, resolving the detailed seismic velocity structures is crucial. Therefore, we applied ambient noise tomography to study the velocity structures of the island. Continuous waveform data recorded at 20 temporary and 3 permanent broad-band seismic stations are used. The group and phase velocity dispersion curves of the fundamental mode Rayleigh waves are extracted from cross-correlograms for 253 station pairs by adopting multiple filter technique. The fast marching method and the subspace method are jointly applied to construct 2-D group and phase velocity maps for periods ranging between 1 and 15 s. 1-D shear wave velocity models and their uncertainties are estimated by the Bayesian technique. The optimal number of the layers are determined at the end of the burn-in period based on the Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC). Final 3-D velocity model of the island is constructed by compiling 1-D models. In our 3-D model, a distinct low velocity anomaly appears beneath Mt. Halla from surface to about 6 km depth. The surficial extent of the anomaly is more or less consistent with the surface geologic feature of the third-stage basaltic eruption reported by previous studies but the vertical extension of the anomaly is not well constrained. To improve the velocity model, especially enhance the vertical resolution of the anomaly, we will apply joint analysis of the surface wave dispersions and teleseismic receiver functions. The improved model will provide more information to infer the tectonic or volcanic implications of the anomaly and unravel the origin of the strange volcanic island in South Korea.