Retrieving PmP Travel Times From a Persistent Localized Microseismic Source.

Ocean swells or storms can generate persistent localized microseismic sources in deep oceans, which emanate body wave energy traveling through the Earth's interior, carrying abundant information about subsurface structures as earthquake waves do. However, body waves from localized microseismic sources have not been fully exploited to map the internal structures of the Earth. Here, we report that the travel times of body wave reflections from the Moho can be obtained from body waves generated by localized microseismic sources. We further demonstrate that body waves from these sources can be utilized to constrain the Moho morphology through synthetic experiments and comparisons with earthquake receiver function results. Our work suggests that localized microseismic sources can be exploited to map the internal structure of the Earth without relying on earthquake data. Plain Language Summary: Movements of ocean waves can trigger the vibration of the solid earth, generating seismic waves which can propagate downward into the deep interior of the Earth and be recorded by a distant seismograph. Such seismic waves are called body waves, which carry information about the interior structures of the Earth. In the past, body waves generated by oceanic swells or storms have not been exploited to map the internal structures of the Earth. In this study, we report that body waves generated by sources related to oceanic swells or storms can be utilized to map the boundary between the crust and the upper mantle of the Earth. Our method may be also applicable to ground motion data triggered by large storms in Mars to image Mars's interior. Key Points: Travel times of PmP phases from Moho can be obtained from persistent microseismic sourcesThese travel times of PmP phases can be utilized to constrain the Moho morphologyIndividual localized microseismic sources can be exploited to map the internal structure of the Earth without relying on earthquake data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]