• journal_title：Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
• Contributor：Shunping Pei ; Junmeng Zhao ; Charlotte A. Rowe ; Suyun Wang ; Thomas M. Hearn ; Zhonghuai Xu ; Hongbing Liu ; Youshun Sun
• Publisher：Seismological Society of America
• Date：2006-
• Format：text/html
• Language：en
• Identifier：10.1785/0120060021
• journal_abbrev：Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
• issn：0037-1106
• volume：96
• issue：4A
• firstpage：1560
• section：Short Notes

We have selected 10,899 M_L amplitude readings from 1732 events recorded by 91 stations, as reported in the Annual Bulletin of Chinese Earthquakes (abce), and have used tomographic imaging to estimate the lateral variations of the quality factor Q₀ (Q at 1 Hz) within the crust of Northern China. Estimated Q₀ values vary from 115 to 715 with an average of 415. Q₀ values are consistent with tectonic and topographic structure in Eastern China. Q₀ is low in the active tectonic regions having many faults, such as the Shanxi and Yinchuan Grabens, Bohai Bay, and Tanlu Fault Zone, and is high in the stable Ordos Craton. Q₀ values are low in several topographically low-lying areas, such as the North China, Taikang-Hefei, Jianghan, Subei-Yellow Sea, and Songliao basins, whereas it is high in mountainous and uplift regions exhibiting surface expressions of crystalline basement rocks: the Yinshan, Yanshan, Taihang, Qinlin, Dabie and Wuyi Mountains, and Luxi and Jiaoliao Uplifts. Quality-factor estimates are also consistent with Pn- and Sn-velocity patterns. High- velocity values, in general, correspond with high Q₀ and low-velocity values with low Q₀. This is consistent with a common temperature influence in the crust and uppermost mantle.