Receiver function¶
A site-centered seismic waveform extracted from teleseismic component records to isolate converted phases that constrain subsurface boundaries and velocities beneath a receiver.
Core Idea¶
A receiver function describes how seismic waves arriving from distant earthquakes are transformed by the structure near a recording station. At a boundary such as the Moho, part of an incoming P wave converts to S; the converted arrival appears after the direct arrival, and its delay contains local structural information.
Comparing components of a three-component seismogram suppresses effects shared by the source and distant path, exposing the receiver-side waveform. Interpretation remains conditional on correctly identifying converted phases and on a velocity model. Multiple events improve stability; neighboring stations can turn many local constraints into a regional boundary picture.
Scope of Application¶
These uses all interpret station-side converted seismic phases, with regional images assembled from local constraints.
- Crust–mantle boundary. Interprets P-to-S converted phases associated with the Moho.
- Mantle interfaces. Uses deeper converted phases and reverberations where identifiable.
- Station studies. Constrains local interface depth and velocity structure beneath one receiver.
- Regional imaging. Synthesizes results from multiple stations for spatial patterns.
Clarity¶
State incident phase, station geometry, recorded components, suspected conversion, direct/converted arrival delay, and velocity assumptions. Distinguish measured pulses from inferred depth and note where reverberations or noise make phase identification ambiguous. Inclusion test: Require multicomponent teleseismic data interpreted through receiver-side converted phases, with source/path effects separated before claiming local interface information. Exclusion test: Exclude an arbitrary seismogram, a source mechanism inversion, or a crustal map inferred without receiver-side phase evidence. Nearest boundary: A vertical-component earthquake waveform is the nearest raw input; it becomes receiver-function evidence only after component relation and conversion timing isolate the station-side response.
Manages Complexity¶
The receiver-centered waveform separates three confounded contributors—source, remote path, and local interface response. That separation makes a complex seismogram interpretable as local structure without pretending that the waveform itself is an unconditioned Earth image.
Abstract Reasoning¶
- Identify a suitable teleseismic arrival and the station's component records.
- Locate plausible direct and converted-phase information in the records.
- Separate effects common to the components from receiver-side arrivals.
- Measure relevant converted-versus-direct timing while checking for reverberations.
- Interpret timing under explicit velocity and phase assumptions, retaining ambiguity where needed.
- Compare events and neighboring stations before claiming a regional interface pattern.
Knowledge Transfer¶
Literal transfer spans crustal and mantle-boundary studies and P-to-S or S-to-P conversions where the receiver-side waveform can be isolated. The abstract idea of cancelling a common input to reveal local response travels more broadly, but a generic signal filter is not a seismic receiver function absent teleseismic phases and station-bound interface interpretation.
Neighborhood in Abstraction Space¶
Receiver function sits in a moderately populated region (43rd percentile for distinctiveness): it has near-neighbors but no dense thicket of look-alikes.
Family — Geophysical Wave & Flow Parameters (11 abstractions)
Nearest neighbors
- Surface-wave inversion — 0.89
- Seismic Site Effects — 0.89
- Reflection (Physics) — 0.88
- Acoustic lobing — 0.87
- Correlated Double Sampling — 0.86
Computed from structural-signature embeddings · 2026-10-08