Wave gradiometry and its link with Helmholtz equation solutions applied to USArray in the eastern U.S.

Wave gradiometry is an array processing technique utilizing the shape of seismic wavefields captured by USArray TA stations to determine fundamental wave propagation characteristics. We first explore a compatibility relation that links the displacement spatial gradients to seismogram displacements and velocities through two unknown coefficients,A → andB → . These coefficients are solved for through iterative, damped least squares inversion to provide estimates of phase velocity, back azimuth, radiation pattern, and geometrical spreading. We show that theA → coefficient corresponds to the gradient of logarithmic amplitude, and theB → coefficient corresponds approximately to the local wave slowness.A → andB → vector fields are interpolated to explore a second compatibility relation through solutions to the Helmholtz equation. For most wavefields passing through the eastern U.S., we show that theA → coefficients are generally orthogonal to theB → coefficients. Where they are not completely orthogonal, there is a strong positive correlation between ∇ · B → and changes in geometrical spreading, which can be further linked with areas of strong energy focusing and defocusing. We finally obtain isotropic Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps for 15 periods between 20 and 150 s, by stacking results from 37 earthquakes, which show a velocity change along the approximate boundary of the early Paleozoic continental margin. We also observe two low‐velocity anomalies, one centered over the central Appalachians where Eocene basaltic volcanism has occurred and the other within the northeastern U.S., possibly associated with the Great Meteor Hotspot track.