Efficiency of Lg Propagation from SmS Dynamic Ray Tracing in Three-dimensionally Varying Crustal Waveguides

The effects of variations in crustal and basin thicknesses on the efficiency of Lg propagation in Central Asia are investigated by comparing the predictions of ray theoretical modeling of Lg as multiple, critically reflected, SmS rays with observations at the KNET, CNET, and ILPA arrays. Ray modeling predicts that strong spatial gradients in crustal thickness within 10 to 50 km of either the source or receiver can affect Lg efficiency over paths exceeding 500 km. Variations in the efficiency of Lg propagation to KNET, including instances of strong variations across the aperture of the array, are consistent with predicted blockage of SmS by high slopes of Moho topography associated with the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains. At CNET and ILPA the blocking effects of Moho slopes associated with the Caucausus and Zagros mountain belts and Black and Caspian Seas are accentuated by the effects of thick basins. Thick basins (greater than 2000 m) are found to have large effects on the efficiency of Lg propagation from shallow (1 km) crustal sources, blocking either a portion or all of the Lg phase along paths crossing these basins. The basin effects are strongly sensitive to source depth, nearly vanishing for sources 15 km and deeper.