About REM3D

Introduction

Our primary tool for deciphering the inner workings of Earth and other rocky planets is through images derived from seismology. The primary objective of imaging or tomography is to determine the Earth's elastic, anelastic, and density structure from recordings at seismic stations and astronomic-geodetic observations. Earth’s interior has traditionally been described in terms of spherically symmetric (1-D) structure with physical properties varying within concentric shells such as the upper mantle and outer core. It is now well established that there are substantial three-dimensional (3-D) variations in the mantle and that tomographic models are useful as starting models for more detailed imaging studies and in constraining temperature, grain size, fabric and composition. Global seismic imaging has reached a point where the development of a 3-D reference Earth model (REM3D) can be envisaged. We have developed the full-spectrum tomography (FST) technique and created reference datasets by reconciling diverse measurement techniques. A new radial (1-D) reference Earth model (REM1D) accounts for lateral heterogeneity and affords new geological insights. Progress in the REM3D project has been made possible through collaboration of researchers worldwide.

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