A method for inversion of layered shear wavespeed azimuthal anisotropy from Rayleigh wave dispersion using the Neighborhood Algorithm

Seismic anisotropy provides important constraints on deformation patterns of Earth's material. Rayleigh wave dispersion data with azimuthal anisotropy can be used to invert for depth-dependent shear wavespeed azimuthal anisotropy, therefore reflecting depth-varying deformation patterns in the crust and upper mantle. In this study, we propose a two-step method that uses the Neighborhood Algorithm (NA) for the point-wise inversion of depth-dependent shear wavespeeds and azimuthal anisotropy from Rayleigh wave azimuthally anisotropic dispersion data. The first step employs the NA to estimate depth-dependent <i<V</i<<sub<SV</sub< (or the elastic parameter <i<L</i<) as well as their uncertainties from the isotropic part Rayleigh wave dispersion data. In the second step, we first adopt a difference scheme to compute approximate Rayleigh-wave phase velocity sensitivity kernels to azimuthally anisotropic parameters with respect to the velocity model obtained in the first step. Then we perform the NA to estimate the azimuthally anisotropic parameters <i<G</i<<sub<c</sub</<i<L</i< and <i<G</i<<sub<s</sub</<i<L</i< at depths separately from the corresponding cosine and sine terms of the azimuthally anisotropic dispersion data. Finally, we compute the depth-dependent magnitude and fast polarization azimuth of shear wavespeed azimuthal anisotropy. The use of the global search NA and Bayesian analysis allows for more reliable estimates of depth-dependent shear wavespeeds and azimuthal anisotropy as well as their uncertainties. We illustrate the inversion method using the azimuthally anisotropic dispersion data in SE Tibet, where we find apparent changes of fast axes of shear wavespeed azimuthal anisotropy between the crust and uppermost mantle.