Teleseismic virtual-source reverse time migration of upper crustal structures in the Three Gorges region, China

SUMMARY The Three Gorges (TG) in central China is an earthquake prone region that lacks active-source seismic surveys, hence requiring high-resolution passive seismic imaging to reveal crustal structures in detail. While teleseismic virtual-source reflection (TVR) profiling is effective for imaging gently dipping upper crustal structures, it is unsuitable for mapping steep structures beneath rugged topography in the TG region. Here we develop a teleseismic virtual-source reverse time migration (TV-RTM) to improve the imaging of steep structures. Synthetic tests are conducted to demonstrate the validity and resolution of the TV-RTM method. To mitigate the imaging inaccuracy due to sparse station spacing, we interpolate direct-arrival waveforms to achieve a doubling of the minimally required station spacing from 2 to 4 km. The TV-RTM images of the upper crustal structure beneath a 2-D array in the TG region reveal significant fold and thrust structures that correlate well with the surface geology and tectonic framework. The resolution of the images is assessed using 2-D and 3-D synthetic models with the station and source geometry of field data. The TV-RTM method provides a new passive seismic solution for studying upper crustal structures in regions that lack active-source seismic data.