S U M M A R YA method has been developed to compute seismic reflection traveltimes in complex 3-D velocity models with complex 3-D reflector geometry. An existing finitedifference algorithm for calculating first-arrival traveltimes was modified t o handle large, sharp velocity contrasts properly. T h e modified algorithm is faster and more accurate than several alternative schemes, and was incorporated in a procedure to compute reflection traveltimes. Snell's law for reflections is used in the vicinity of the reflecting interface. The reflector model is allowed to vary smoothly in depth, increasing the accuracy compared with a discretized reflector model. Reflection traveltimes are computed simultaneously for all revivers, requiring only two applications of the finite-difference algorithm for each shot. This results in a significant saving in computation time in comparison with other algorithms which require one pass of the finite-difference algorithm for each shot and each receiver. T h e reflection traveltime procedure is well suited for incorporation in inversion schemes for 3-D velocity and reflector structure.

S U M M A R YThe Woodlark rift system is one of the few places where active ocean basin formation can be studied. Within this rift system, continental extension rates are some of the fastest on the planet, and extension progresses eastwards to full seafloor spreading. We use results from a recent passive seismic experiment to address the role of magmatism prior to the onset of seafloor spreading. We invert local earthquake P and S traveltimes for 3-D structure around and ahead of the active spreading tip. From the local earthquake tomography we observe three main structures. Seismic velocities in the crust show a sharp contrast between regions that resemble continental crust ahead of the spreading tip and oceanic crust to the east. In the continental portion, P velocities increase from 5.6 km s −1 to 6.9 km s −1 between 10 and 25 km depth, indicating a bulk felsic to intermediate composition, similar to other continental regions. Beneath the seismic Moho (23-28 km depth, as defined by receiver functions) a 10-15-kmthick gradient zone exist locally with velocities from 7.0 to 7.9 km s −1 , which may reflect an underplated mafic, granulite facies lowermost crust, or perhaps magmatic intrusion into the lithospheric mantle. In contrast, farther east and closer to the active spreading tip, velocities rapidly increase from 6.5 to 7.2 km s −1 between 8 and 18 km depth. These fast crustal velocities appear in a narrow zone roughly 60 km wide and indicate a mafic crust, similar to oceanic crust. Our velocity results suggest that the transition from diffuse continental rifting to localized seafloor spreading likely occurs across a narrow zone. Magmatism prior to the onset of seafloor spreading may not play a significant role in altering crust until the onset of seafloor spreading, except through underplating at the base of the crust.

Seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection data were recorded on a triangular array in southwestern British Columbia centered on the boundary between the Coast Belt to the southwest and the Intermontane Belt to the northeast. The experiment, part of the Lithoprobe Southern Cordillera transect, enabled determination of the three-dimensional (3-D) velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle. An algorithm for the inversion of wide-angle seismic data to determine 3-D velocity structure and depth to reflecting interfaces is developed. The algorithm is based on existing procedures for the inversion and forward modeling of first arrival travel times and forward modeling of reflection travel times, including (1) forward modeling using a 3-D finite difference algorithm; and (2) a simple velocity model parameterization for the inversion which eliminates the need to solve a large system of equations. The existing procedure is extended to allow (1) the inversion of reflection times to solve for depth to a reflecting interface and/or velocity structure;(2) the inversion of first arrival travel times to solve for depth to a refracting interface; and (3) layer stripping. Application of the algorithm to southern Cordillera data uses Pg to constrain upper crustal velocity structure, Prop to constrain lower crustal velocity structure and depth to Moho, and Pn to constrain upper mantle velocities and depth to Moho. The 3-D velocity model for the southwestern Canadian Cordillera is characterized by (1) significant lateral velocity variations at all depths that do not, in general, correlate with surface geological features or gravity data; (2) a relatively high velocity middle and lower crust in the southwestern part of the study area which correlates with a strong relative gravity high and outlines the eastern extent of lower Wrangellia, an accreted terrane forming the Insular Belt to the west; (3) a narrow zone of slower velocity in the lower crust and change in crustal thickness associated with the Fraser Fault system, lending additional support to the view that it is a crustal penetrating fault; (4) an average upper mantle velocity of 7.85 kin/s; and (5) a depth to Moho of 33-36 km in the Intermontane Belt and 36-38 km throughout most of the Coast Belt, decreasing in the west to 33 km near the Insular-Coast contact. Horizontal velocity structure slices and an interpreted cross section based on these and other results show the complexity of crustal structure in the region. 1992]. Experiment (SCORE '89), located in southwestern BritishColumbia, and the 1990 recording program (SCORE '90), located in southeastern British Columbia with one profile in the Coast Belt (Figure 1, inset). The general objectives of the surveys were (1) to provide quantitative values for velocity variation with depth; (2) to map laterally varying velocity structure; and (3) to map the topography of prominent velocity discontinuities such as the crust-mantle boundary (Moho).An important aspect of the 1989 survey was the triangular recording geometry and ab...

International audienceThe Gulf of Corinth (GOC), Greece is a continental rift with high rates of seismicity and ex-tensional strain. How this strain is accommodated in the crust and whether there are variations in the mechanism along strike remain open questions, in part because of a lack of wide-angle reflection/refraction studies that constrain crustal velocity structure. In 2001, an extensive mul-tichannel seismic survey was conducted within the GOC, one component of which included the wide-angle recording of sources from within the gulf at stations on land surrounding the gulf. In this paper we use wide-angle data in two separate, but allied, studies to constrain crustal velocities and depth to the Moho. A 2-D inversion of refraction and reflection traveltimes along an axial profile through the GOC constrains the shallow crustal velocity structure, images the Moho at 29 km depth in the east, dipping to 39 km in the west, and images the eastward subducting African slab beneath the western GOC at a depth of 74 km. The 1-D average of the 2-D velocity model was used in a tomographic inversion of PmP reflection times to solve for depth to the Moho throughout the Corinth region. This model shows generally thick, isostati-cally compensated crust (≥37 km) beneath the Hellenide Mountains, except immediately south of the GOC, and a singular region of thin crust (<30 km) beneath the Perahora Peninsula at the eastern end of the gulf. A comparison with Moho depths derived from gravity inversion shows a general agreement with crust thickening from east to west, but a number of differences in detail. The 3-D crustal thickness variations are more complex than those predicted by either pure shear or simple shear models of continental extension and suggest significant pre-rift structural variability

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