Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sks Splitting Beneath Southern California, Kelly H. Liu, Paul M. Davis, Stephen S. Gao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Measurements of SKS phase splitting were obtained from nineteen seismic stations in southern California. The fast polarization directions are 53° at the southern end of the Great Valley, 82 ± 8° in the western Transverse Ranges and northern Peninsular Ranges, 95 ± 4° in Mojave Desert, and 70° on San Clemente Island. The splitting time ranges from 0.8 to 1.8 seconds, which is consistent with an anisotropic layer of 100 to 200 km thick for 4% anisotropy.