Ambient noise seismic tomography has proven to be an effective tool for subsurface imaging, particularly in volcanic regions such as the Reykjanes Peninsula (RP), SW Iceland, where ambient seismic noise is ideal with isotropic illumination. The primary purpose of this study is to obtain a reliable shear wave velocity model of the RP, to get a better understanding of the subsurface structure of the RP and how it relates to other geoscientific results. This is the first tomographic model of the RP which is based on both on- and off-shore seismic stations. We use the ambient seismic noise data and apply a novel algorithm called one-step 3-D transdimensional tomography. The main geological structures in the study area (i.e. covered by seismic stations) are the four NE-SW trending volcanic systems, orientated highly oblique to the plate spreading on the RP. These are from west to east; Reykjanes, Eldvörp-Svartsengi, Fagradalsfjall and Krýsuvík, of which all except Fagradalsfjall host a known high-temperature geothermal field. Using surface waves retrieved from ambient noise recordings, we recovered a 3-D model of shear wave velocity. We observe low-velocity anomalies below these known high-temperature fields. The observed low-velocity anomalies below Reykjanes and Eldvörp-Svartsengi are significant but relatively small. The low-velocity anomaly observed below Krýsuvík is both larger and stronger, oriented near-perpendicular to the volcanic system, and coinciding well with a previously found low-resistivity anomaly. A low-velocity anomaly in the depth range of 5-8 km extends horizontally along the whole RP, but below the high-temperature fields, the onset of the velocity decrease is shallower, at around 3 km depth. This is in good agreement with the brittle-ductile transition zone on the RP. In considerably greater detail, our results confirm previous tomographic models obtained in the area. This study demonstrates the potential of the entirely data-driven, one-step 3-D transdimensional ambient noise tomography as a routine tomography tool and a complementary seismological tool for geothermal exploration, providing an enhanced understanding of the upper crustal structure of the RP.

We report on a Bayesian (i.e., probabilistic) inversion for the shear-wave velocity structure of the Reykjanes peninsula, SW Iceland. Travel times of Rayleigh waves traversing the peninsula served as input to the probabilistic algorithm. These Rayleigh waves were retrieved through the application of seismic interferometry to yearlong recordings of ambient seismic noise. The Reykjanes peninsula is well placed for this technique because it is surrounded by ocean, which implies a relatively uniform seismic noise illumination; the latter being a condition for accurate interferometric surface wave retrieval. The Bayesian algorithm uses a variable model parametrization by employing Voronoi cells in conjunction with a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler. The algorithm is entirely data-driven, meaning that, contrary to conventional deterministic tomographic inversions, the user does not need to define any regularization or parameterization parameters to solve the inverse problem. The geology in the area of interest is characterized by four NE-SW trending volcanic systems, orientated oblique to the divergent plate boundary cutting across the Reykjanes Peninsula. These are from west to east; Reykjanes, Svartsengi, Fagradalsfjall and Krýsuvík, of which all except Fagradalsfjall host a known high-temperature geothermal field. We observe relatively high shear wave velocity patches close to the Earth’s surface (top two kilometers) at the location of these known high-temperature fields. These high velocity anomalies invert to relatively low shear wave velocities (in comparison to shear wave velocities in the same horizontal plane) at depths greater than 3 km. The latter low-velocity anomalies are relatively small below Reykjanes and Svartsengi. At depths of 5 to 8 km, a low-velocity anomaly extends horizontally below Reykjanes and Svartsengi, correlating relatively well with the inferred brittle-ductile transition below the high-temperature fields at 4-5 km depth. The low-velocity anomaly below Krýsuvík is much larger and coincides with a deep-seated low electrical resistivity anomaly. Horizontally, it coincides with the center of an inflation source at 4–5 km depth. For example, in 2010 this resulted in an uplift exceeding 50 mm/year, but several periods of alternating uplift and subsidence associated with increased seismicity have been observed in Krýsuvík since 2009. Our results both confirm and add details to previous models obtained in the area. Our study demonstrates the potential of Bayesian surface wave inversion as a complementary geophysical tool for geothermal exploration.

Seismic travel time tomography using surface waves is an effective tool for three-dimensional crustal imaging. Historically, these surface waves are the result of active seismic sources or earthquakes. More recently, however, surface waves retrieved through the application of seismic interferometry have also been exploited. Conventionally, two-step inversion algorithms are employed to solve the tomographic inverse problem. That is, a first inversion results in frequency-dependent, two-dimensional maps of phase velocity, which then serve as input for a series of independent, one-dimensional frequency-to-depth inversions. As such, a set of localized depth-dependent velocity profiles are obtained at the surface points. Stitching these separate profiles together subsequently yields a three-dimensional velocity model. Relatively recently, a one-step three-dimensional non-linear tomographic algorithm has been proposed. The algorithm is rooted in a Bayesian framework using Markov chains with reversible jumps, and is referred to as transdimensional tomography. Specifically, the three-dimensional velocity field is parameterized by means of a polyhedral Voronoi tessellation. In this study, we investigate the potential of this algorithm for the purpose of recovering the three-dimensional surface-wave-velocity structure from ambient noise recorded on and around the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland. To that end, we design a number of synthetic tests that take into account the station configuration of the Reykjanes seismic network. We find that the algorithm is able to recover the 3D velocity structure at various scales in areas where station density is high. In addition, we find that the standard deviation of the recovered velocities is low in those regions. At the same time, the velocity structure is less well recovered in parts of the peninsula sampled by fewer stations. This implies that the algorithm successfully adapts model resolution to the density of rays. It also adapts model resolution to the amount of noise in the travel times. Because the algorithm is computationally demanding, we modify the algorithm such that computational costs are reduced while sufficiently preserving non-linearity. We conclude that the algorithm can now be applied adequately to travel times extracted from station–station cross correlations by the Reykjanes seismic network.