Regional wave propagation in Turkey and surrounding regions

Digital and analog seismic waveform data collected by 34 stations in and ar ound Turkey provided excellent ray coverage for a detailed attenuation stud y of regional sheer waves (Sn and Lg). Over 2000 seismograms within a dista nce range of 15 degrees were visually inspected and the quality of Sn and L g phases categorized into three different classes: efficient, inefficient o r not present. Our results show that Sn and Lg propagation is mostly ineffi cient in western Turkey and the Aegean Sea. Sn is efficient in parts of sou thwestern Turkey, the western Pontides and western Greece. Sn is not observ ed in eastern Turkey and along the Aegean volcanic are. Lg propagates effic iently in the Arabian plate including paths that cross the Dead Sea fault z one and in northwestern Turkey. Lg does not propagate in northeast Anatolia , across the Lesser Caucasus and north of the Hellenic are (Sea of Crete). These results are a major improvement on prior attenuation studies in this region and provide new constraints for proposed tectonic models.