Uniqueness of modeling results from teleseismic P-Wave tomography in Project Tor

Within Project Tor, which is about Teleseismic Tomography across the Tornquist Zone in Germany-Denmark-Sweden, we have confirmed very significant deep lithosphere differences. And modeling is substantiated via completely independent methods. In 1996-1997 our 130 seismographs constituted the largest seismic antenna ever in Europe. The Tor area was chosen along a well studied crustal profile of an earlier project, and the modeling efforts were concentrated on the deep lithosphere and asthenosphere differences to depths around 300 km. The Tor data have been subjected to P-wave travel time tomography, surface wave and receiver function analysis as well as anisotropy and scattering measurements. An important goal of the project was to make several independent inversions of the tomography data, and compare the results in an attempt to evaluate uniqueness, resolution and accuracy of these inversions. The comparisons of this paper involve more diversity in methods than any previous comparison. The geological outcome is a substantiation of earlier statements that: “The transition is interpreted to be sharp and steep in two places. It goes all through the lithosphere at the northern rim of the Tornquist Zone near the border between Sweden and Denmark, and here the lithosphere difference is large to depths more than 200 km. The other lithosphere difference, of smaller scale, is found near the southern edge of the Ringkøbing-Fyn High near the border between Denmark and Germany. Also this transition is sharp and steep, and goes all through the lithosphere to depths around 120 km. These two sharp transitions divide the Tor region into 3 different lithosphere structures distinguishable in P-wave travel time tomography, surface wave dispersion, P- and S-wave anisotropy and partly in P-wave scattering”. The mentioned broad-scale features are judged to be unambiguously determined, with well-described resolution and accuracy. Unfortunately a detail like the slope of the subcrustal lithosphere transition right under the Tornquist Zone cannot be constrained even if this is where the resolution is best, and the curiosity largest.