Moho depth analysis of the eastern Pannonian Basin and the Southern Carpathians from receiver functions

Receiver function analysis is performed for the easternmost part of the Pannonian Basin and across the Southern Carpathians, a geologically and geodynamically complex region featuring microplates, mountain belts, and locally deep sedimentary basins. We exploited seismological data of 56 stations including temporary broadband stations of the South Carpathian Project (SCP) and two permanent stations in Hungary. We calculated P-to-S receiver functions to determine the variation of Moho depth across the basin and the mountains along a NW–SE-oriented swath about 600 km long and 200 km wide. We applied threefold quality control on the raw and the processed data. The Moho depth was determined by two independent approaches, common conversion point migration and H-K grid search method. The determined Moho depths show shallow values between the AlCaPa and the Tisza-Dacia blocks, with typical depths between 22 and 28 km, and the shallowest depths in the area of eastern Pannonian Basin. We could estimate the Moho depth beneath one station in the Mid-Hungarian Zone, between the AlCaPa and the Tisza-Dacia blocks. The crust was thicker under the Apuseni Mountains (28–32 km), and in the investigated region, the Moho was deepest beneath the Southern Carpathians (33–43 km). We observed a southeastward crustal thickness increase, and we presented an interpolated Moho map over the area of study.