On the nonuniqueness of receiver function inversions

To study the resolving power of teleseismic P waveforms for receiver structure, we model synthetic waveforms using a time domain waveform inversion scheme beginning with a range of initial models to estimate the range of acceptable velocity structures. We present the results of more than 235 waveform inversions for one-dimensional velocity structures that indicate that the primary sensitivity of a receiver function is to high wavenumber velocity changes, and a depth-velocity product, not simply velocity. The range of slownesses in a typical receiver function study does not appear to be broad enough to remove the depth-velocity ambiguity; the inclusion of a priori information is necessary. -from Authors