Determining a 1-D velocity model of the uppermost crust from P and S arrival times using the neighbourhood algorithm:: Synthetic test

Using synthetic data we study the possibility of determining I-D velocity models of the upper crust from P- and S-wave arrival times in the case of a narrow depth interval of seismic sources and sparse distribution of stations. The test is tailored to a similar real situation in one subregion of the western part of the Corinth Gulf, Greece. Two kinds of models are studied: (i) models composed of layers with constant velocity gradients, and (ii) models composed of homogeneous layers. To derive the structural models from arrival times, the Neighbourhood Algorithm of Sambridge (1999) is used, combined with the grid search for source locations. Weighted P- and S-wave arrival time residuals are used as the misfit function. Accurate and perturbed synthetic arrival times are used. The velocities at medium depths, with a fast velocity increase, are well determined in both models for the accurate data. However, the determination of velocity is less certain in the uppermost 5 kin for the gradient model, and in the deepest layer for the model composed of homogeneous layers for the perturbed data. The presence or absence of hypocentres in the uppermost or in the second layer influences notably the obtained velocity in these layers in both models.