ALBERT

Beschreibung: Mostly based on traditional catalogues, without further research, several modern parametric catalogues are nevertheless straightforward, without question marks, and easily misleading (chronology, epicentre, epicentral intensity, not to speak of magnitude). The example of an Ionian time-window (1658-1664), with several major events, shows that the historical seismicity of the Ionian Islands, often thought to be well-known, actually needs a more or less drastic revision. A wealth of sources was collected, mostly from the Archives of the Republic of Venice, then ruling the main three islands of the Ionian Archipelago; it was ascertained that there are no important chronological gaps in the surviving documentation. Similarly outstanding, and in fact at the basis of a more balanced and precise view of one of the events in this time-window, are the souvenirs of Christoff von Degenfeld, a German nobleman at the service of the Republic of Venice. His manuscript, discovered at the library of Karlsruhe (Germany) in 1992, has been consulted again in the original, on the occasion of the preparation of this paper. Some question marks remain on the distributions of macroseismic effects of the earthquakes within this time-window, and this is due to the lack of information concerning the mainland. For this reason this study does not propose epicentres and, of course, magnitudes. An unusually long documentary appendix is provided, with the hope that it might contribute in discouraging authors of parametric earthquake catalogues from hasty exploitation and interpretation of often unreliable current catalogues.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 43-91

Beschreibung: 3.10. Sismologia storica e archeosismologia

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: Most of the ancient town of Tindari (NE, Sicily) was settled on a plateau the most surficial layer of which was made of unconsolidated material. Ongoing excavations at the archaeological site at Tindari uncovered a large portion of the decumanus which suffered deformations preliminarily assigned to coseismic effects. An analysis of the local dynamic response through the simulation of strong seismic shaking to the bedrock and modelling of spectral ratios of the bedrock-soft soil was carried out to verify the susceptibility of superficial terrains of the promontory to coseismic deformations. To perform this simulation the finite element method (FEM) was used. Four accelerometric recordings of three earthquakes of medium-high magnitude, recorded on rocky sites, were chosen to simulate the seismic shaking, using a constitutive law for the materials composing the promontory layers both of linear-elastic type and of elastoplastic type. The analysis of the linear-elastic field allowed the definition of the frequencies for which the spectral ratios of the accelerations recorded the highest amplifications; in particular the frequency range 31.5–37.2 Hz can be combined with deformation of the paved floor of the decumanus. The analysis in the elastoplastic field highlighted the zones of promontory more susceptible to suffer plasticization process. The results show that the topmost layer of the decumanus is the most susceptible to suffer plasticization. Therefore, the performed analysis lends greater support to the hypothesis that the deformations were produced by seismic shaking.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 213-222

Beschreibung: 3.10. Sismologia storica e archeosismologia

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: Jean Vogt was born in 1929 in Strasbourg (France), where he attended primary and secondary school. At the University of Strasbourg, he graduated in Geography, and majored in Geomorphology. His professor was the geographer Jean Tricart, who taught him the importance of both geological field work and archive investigation. In 1955 he joined the French West-Africa Geological Service and later the French Bureau for Geology and Mines (BRGM). Along the following 20 years he lived as a “geological” globetrotter in a number of countries, dispensing his time between the field and the archives. In these years, he was concerned mainly with mining geology, geomorphology, superficial deposits, and landslides. This unique experience led him in 1975 to the responsibility of the “Seismo-Tectonic Project”, the BRGM project in relation with the French nuclear power programme. From 1975 to 1984, he gave a substantial impulse to the study of French historical earthquakes, and since then he visited almost every public archive in France, and several major archives and libraries in Europe and abroad. He took care at the same time of the follow-up of macroseismic studies of present-day earthquakes. After he retired in 1984, he continued on a personal basis his investigations of historical earthquakes, in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caribbean area. Alongside and for about 50 years, Jean Vogt investigated uninterruptedly the agrarian history of Northeastern France and Southwestern Germany. He published in scientific journals and in local learned societies bulletins more than 500 notes and articles devoted to a variety of subjects, such as soil erosion, agriculture, cattle trade, and social conflicts. Jean Vogt died on 5 June 2005 in Strasbourg. His scientific legacy consists of a wealth of published papers, manuscripts, documentation related to history and seismology, awaiting to be further exploited, as he would have done.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 3-16

Beschreibung: 3.10. Sismologia storica e archeosismologia

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: The recent seismological literature recorded three strong earthquakes in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia between 1656 and 1694 AD. The historical evidence for these derives from European sources only (gazettes, journalistic pamphlets, missionary literature). Considering the kind of sources involved, their likely biases and the geographical distances that divided their places of production from the places that they spoke about, it is possible that some of these accounts could be less than reliable, and therefore have little use as materials from which to assess earthquake parameters. To answer these doubts, we have retrieved, cross-checked and critically analysed the original historical sources quoted in previous compilations and studies.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 163-184

Beschreibung: 5.1. TTC - Banche dati e metodi macrosismici

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: While the seismicity of the Southern Alps is high in the Eastern sector, corresponding to the Veneto and Friuli regions, it decreases towards West up to the Adda River. In the sector between the Lessini Mts. and Eastern Friuli the damaging earthquakes are clustered in a well defined seismic belt, where seismogenic sources responsible for earthquakes with Mw 6 have been defined in recent works. In contrast, the knowledge of the Southalpine sector West of this area is sparser; the area experienced some earthquakes with Mw〉5.5 and varied events with 4.8≤Mw≤5.5 the distribution of which is, apparently, random. For the area roughly defined by the basins of the Adda River to the West and the middle Adige River to the East, this paper reappraises the background knowledge of the earthquakes occurred before 1700. The investigation and the results are presented according to two successive periods, up to 1995 and from 1995 on. In the research performed up to 1995, the most important achievements concerned two different aspects: i) the assessement of several “fake quakes”, some of which were the object of paradigmatic case-histories; ii) the resizing and relocation of several, presumed damaging earthquakes. Though this round of investigation changed significantly the picture of the seismicity with respect to the Seventies, the research continued. For the period from 1995 on, the discussion focuses on the reliability of the available information; material that received little or no consideration before, new historical findings and comments to the seismological interpretation as in the most recent literature are also presented. This part includes also the discussion of archaeoseismological evidence of damage related to past earthquakes.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 93-129

Beschreibung: 3.10. Sismologia storica e archeosismologia

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: The Valtiberina region (central Italy) has a seismic record going back to the Middle Ages and including five Io 〉 VIII MCS earthquakes, the earliest of which (1352, 1389, 1458). though recently and extensively studied, remain rather poorly known. This makes it all the more important to ensure that the later ones (1789, 1917) are as throughly studied as possible. The 1789 earthquake is listed by the current Italian catalogue (CPTI Working Group 2004) with Io VIII-IX MCS and Mm 5.8. These parameters were assessed from a database of 28 macroseismic intensity data points (Castelli et al. 1996), which is less than plentiful for a late 18th century earthquake. An analysis of the historical context of the 1789 earthquake and its influence on the production of contemporary accounts evidences a few research paths that previous studies either did not or could not take. Following them, the macroseismic database of the 1789 earthquake can be noticeably improved, providing the catalogue compiler with a mean to check the reliability of its current parameters.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 249-260

Beschreibung: 5.1. TTC - Banche dati e metodi macrosismici

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: This special issue of Journal of Seismology, dedicated to Archaeoseismology, shows the current trends of research in this young branch of seismology. The beginning of modern archaeoseismological practice during the 1980’s and the investigations made during the 1990’s were in many cases conditioned by the lack of cooperation among the spcialists from different scientific diciplines. Numerous publications resulted from the work of archaeologists, in some cases in collaboration with experts in earthquake-geology or seismology, but rarely such work included a complete and multidisciplinary approach and in situ analysis of the evidence. In many cases, archaeoseismological studies were limited to the detection of traces of past earthquakes in archaeological remains without a seismological perspective aiming to derive quantitative parameters necessary to fully describe a past earthquake (magnitude, etc.). In other cases, such investigations were limited to the analysis of archaeological reports of excavations made years or decades earlier. A step towards the quantification of seismological aspects was represented by the “territorial” approach, trying to reconstruct a picture of an earthquake by detecting its signs over a wider region. This procedure was, however, limited by the scarcity and reliability of published or unpublished archaeological material, usually adopted without a critical review.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 393–394

Beschreibung: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: Archaeoseismic research contributes important data on past earthquakes. A limitation of the usefulness of archaeoseismology is due to the lack of continuous discussion about the methodology. The methodological issues are particularly important because archaeoseismological investigations of past earthquakes make use of a large variety of methods. Typical in situ investigations include: (1) reconstruction of the local archaeological stratigraphy aimed at defining the correct position and chronology of a destruction layer, presumably related to an earthquake; (2) analysis of the deformations potentially due to seismic shaking or secondary earthquake effects, detectable on walls; (3) analysis of the depositional characteristics of the collapsed material; (4) investigations of the local geology and geomorphology to define possible natural cause(s) of the destruction; (5) investigations of the local factors affecting the ground motion amplifications; and (6) estimation of the dynamic excitation, which affected the site under investigation. Subsequently, a ‘territorial’ approach testing evidence of synchronous destruction in a certain region may delineate the extent of the area struck by the earthquake. The most reliable results of an archaeoseismological investigation are obtained by application of modern geoarchaeological practice (archaeological stratigraphy plus geological–geomorphological data), with the addition of a geophysicalengineering quantitative approach and (if available) historical information. This gives a basic dataset necessary to perform quantitative analyses which, in turn, corroborate the archaeoseismic hypothesis. Since archaeoseismological investigations can reveal the possible natural causes of destruction at a site, they contribute to the wider field of environmental archaeology, that seeks to define the history of the relationship between humans and the environment. Finally, through the improvement of the knowledge on the past seismicity, these studies can contribute to the regional estimation of seismic hazard.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 395-414

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: The southernmost sector of the Italian peninsula is crossed by an almost continuous seismogenic belt capable of producing M ~ 7 earthquakes and extending from the Calabrian Arc, through the Messina Straits, as far as Southeastern Sicily. Though large earthquakes occurring in this region during the last Millennium are fairly well known from the historical point of view and seismic catalogues may be considered complete for destructive and badly damaging events (IX £ Io £ XI MCS), the knowledge and seismic completeness of moderate earthquakes can be improved by investigating other kinds of documentary sources not explored by the classical seismological tradition. In this paper, we present a case study explanatory of the problem, regarding the Ionian coast between the Messina Straits and Mount Etna volcano, an area of North-eastern Sicily lacking evidence of relevant seismic activity in historical times. Now, after a systematic analysis of the 18th century journalistic sources (gazettes), this gap can be partly filled by the rediscovery of a seismic sequence that took place in 1780. According to the available catalogues, the only event on record for this year is a minor shock (Io = VI MCS, Mw = 4.8) recorded in Messina on March 28, 1780. The newly discovered data allow to reinstate it as the mainshock (Io = VII–VIII MCS, Mw = 5.6) of a significant seismic period, which went on from March to June 1780, causing severe damage along the Ionian coast of North-eastern Sicily. The source responsible for this event appears located offshore, 40-km south of the previous determination, and is consistent with the Taormina Fault suggested by the geological literature, developing in the low seismic rate zone at the southernmost termination of the 1908 Messina earthquake fault.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: The aim of this study is to shed light ontwo important destructive seismicsequences, about 20 years apart (1138–1139and 1156–1159), which hit the northernsector of the Dead Sea transform faultsystem (DSTFS), in the easternMediterranean region. Although some ofthese earthquakes were already known to thescholarly tradition, the interpretationsprovided until today have largely beenpartial and characterised by uncertaintiesand discrepancies among the variousauthors. Our study has developed throughresearch into the original Arabic, Syriac,Armenian and Latin texts and a criticalanalysis relating to a territory fragmentedby the presence of the Christian-Latinstates. This analysis has allowed us toshed light on the already existing, albeitoften uncertain, information and to add newelements of these two important series ofearthquake shocks to our knowledge base.As regards the first seismic sequence(October 1138–June 1139), apart from havingdefined the date with greater accuracy,eight new locations affected have beenidentified, unknown to previous studies.The shocks jolted a vast area withdestructive effects, including theterritory of Aleppo (modern Halab, Syria)and the western part of the region ofEdessa (modern Urfa, Turkey).The second seismic sequence (September1156–May 1159) was much longer anddevastating, and hit a huge area, includedbetween the present-day territories ofnorth-western Syria, northern Lebanon andthe region of Antioch (modern Antakya, insouthern Turkey). A detailed analysis ofthe primary sources has allowed toreconstruct the series of shocks withchronological detail of the effects,improving our previous knowledge. Lastly,the authors formulate an hypothesis as tothe possible seismogenic zones affected.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 105-127

Beschreibung: 3.10. Sismologia storica e archeosismologia

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: The recent seismological literature recorded three strong earthquakes in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia between 1656 and 1694 AD. The historical evidence for these derives from European sources only (gazettes, journalistic pamphlets, missionary literature). Considering the kind of sources involved, their likely biases and the geographical distances that divided their places of production from the places that they spoke about, it is possible that some of these accounts could be less than reliable, and therefore have little use as materials from which to assess earthquake parameters. To answer these doubts, we have retrieved, cross-checked and critically analysed the original historical sources quoted in previous compilations and studies.

Beschreibung: Unpublished

Beschreibung: 3.10. Sismologia storica e archeosismologia

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: In Südostalaska wird eine relative Meeresspiegelabsenkung von bis zu 4 cm/ a beobachtet. Da dieses Gebiet während der letzten Kaltperiode durch das Kordillerische Eisschild bedeckt war und noch heute von Vergletscherung geprägt ist, liegt die Vermutung nahe, daß die Meeresspiegeländerungen zumindest teilweise durch isostatische Ausgleichsvorgänge hervorgerufen werden. Um diese Hypothese zu prüfen, werden für dieses Gebiet eislastinduzierte Vertikalbewegungen und Geoidänderungen mit Hilfe viskoelastischer Erdmodelle berechnet. Insbesondere werden sechs siebenschichtige Erdmodelle verwendet, die unterschiedliche Viskostitätsprofile berücksichtigen und die Bandbreite der plausiblen Lithosphärenmächtigkeiten abdecken. Das globale Lastmodell ICE-3G wird erweitert und das regionale Lastmodell AL-1 entwickelt, welches die rezente Vergletscherung Südostalaskas berücksichtigt. Weiterhin werden die Ozeane als Last einbezogen. Ein Vergleich der berechneten mit den beobachteten Meeresspiegeländerungen zeigt, daß die Beobachtungen nur zu einen geringen Anteil von wenigen Millimetern pro Jahr durch Isostasie erklärt werden können.

Beschreibung: Die im Norddeutschen Becken vorkommenden hochsalinaren, heißen Tiefenwässer besitzen ein beträchtliches Wärmepotential, das bisher in Neustadt-Glewe, Neubrandenburg und Waren zur Energiegewinnung genutzt wird. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit bestand zum einen darin, die Herkunft und die Genese dieser Solen und der in ihnen gelösten Stoffe zu rekonstruieren. Ein zweiter Schwerpunkt bestand in der Ermittlung geochemischer Parameter, die für einen problemlosen Langzeitbetrieb geothermischer Anlagen und somit für deren Wirtschaftlichkeit von Bedeutung sind. Die untersuchten Solen stammten aus Aquiferen, die durch fünf Bohrungen (Neubrandenburg, Waren, Rheinsberg, Neustadt-Glewe, Hamburg-Allermöhe) in Tiefen von 1250 bis 3250 m (54 bis l28°C) erschlossen wurden. Alle untersuchten Na-Cl-Solen wurden aus Sandsteinaquiferen des Keuper (Contorta!Postera-Schichten) gefördert, für die mit zunehmender Tiefe steigende TDS-Gehalte (134 bis 224 g/1) charakteristisch sind. Die Zusammensetzung der gelösten Feststoffe blieb über einen Zeitraum von 3 Jahren konstant. Die Br/CJ-Verhältnisse der Solen sind kleiner als in eingedampftem Meerwasser. Dies und 811B-Werte von +23.8 %o bis +36.3 %o indizieren die Herkunft des Salzgehaltes durch Auflösung/Laugung von Salzen. Das Gas-Wasser-Volumenverhältnis in Proben geothermisch genutzter Solen liegt bei max. 1:10. Die Gasphase wird von C02, N2 und CH4 dominiert, wobei der Gehalt an C02 und CH4 mit der Tiefe zunimmt. Als Spurengase treten He, Ar, H2 und weitere Kohlenwasserstoffe auf (jeweils 〈1 Vol.-%). Die Gasphase des Thermalwassers Neustadt-Giewe zeigte über einen Zeitraum von 2 Jahren keine Änderung in ihrer Zusammensetzung. Periodische Schwankungen in sehr kleinen Konzentrationsbereichen während einer mehrtägigen Gasmeßkampagne korrelieren mit den Erdgezeiten. Die N2-Ar-He-Verhältnisse zeigen, daß es sich um tiefzirkulierende Oberflächenwässer handelt. Untermauert wird diese Interpretation durch die sehr niedrigen 3HefHe-Verhältnisse (R!Ra:S;O.Ol), die keine Mantelheliumkomponente anzeigen, sowie die gegenüber Luft (295.5) leicht erhöhten 40 Ar/36 Ar-Verhältnisse von bis zu 367.5. He-Akkumulationsalter als scheinbare Verweildauer der Solen von 20 bis 50 Ma wurden berechnet. Das Tiefenwasser von NeustadtGiewe besaß gegenüber den anderen Lokationen erhöhte Kohlenwasserstoffgehalte. Die 813C1,2,3- Werte weisen auf thermogenetische Kohlenwasserstoffe und auf ein marines Ausgangsmaterial mit einer Reife, die einer Vitrinitreflektion von etwa 1.2 % entspricht, hin. Die Herkunft aus Corgreichen Zechstein-Sedimenten ist wahrscheinlich, organisches Material des wesentlich tiefer liegenden Karbons scheidet als Quelle aus. Die 8180- und öD-Werte der Wässer zeigen an, daß meteorisches Wasser bei der Genese eine bedeutende Rolle gespielt hat. Die ermittelte isatopische Zusammensetzung der meteorischen Komponente weicht von heutigen Niederschlagswässern ab und weist einen letztmaligen Kontakt mit der Atmosphäre zu einer Zeit deutlich wärmeren Klimas als das heutige nach. Die in einem Thermalwasser vorhandenen Gase können die technologische Eignung der Sole und den Betrieb einer geothermischen Anlage maßgeblich beinflussen (Scaling, Auftreten brennbarer Gase, Entlösung von Gasen). Bei Vorhandensein Corg-reicher Sedimente nimmt die Wahrscheinlichkeit des Auftretens brennbarer Gase in Wässern aus größerer Tiefe, die durch ihre höhere Temperatur wirtschaftlicher sind, zu. Um die Entgasung eines Tiefenwassers innerhalb einer Anlage zu verhindem und somit Scaling und unkontrolliertes Entgasen zu minimieren, wurde anhand Literaturdaten exemplarisch für den Thermalwasserkreislauf der Anlage Neustadt-Giewe (Sole mit den höchsten Gasgehalten) ein Mindestanlagendruck berechnet. Danach sind etwa 2 bar ausreichend, um ein Entgasen der Sole zu verhindern; Strömungseffekte erfordern jedoch eine Erhöhung des Anlagendrucks auf etwa 4 bar. Die zeitliche Konstanz in der Zusammensetzung der gelösten Feststoffe und der Gasphase über einen Zeitraum von 2 bzw. 3 Jahren zeugt von einer relativ großen räumlichen Homogenität der Aquifere, wodurch der Betrieb der Anlagen durch Änderungen in der chemischen Zusammensetzung der Solen kaum gefährdet zu sein scheint. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit haben gezeigt, daß sowohl bei der hydrodynamischen Vorerkundung als auch während des Betriebes eines geothermischen Heizwerkes die genaue Kenntnis der Gasmengen und der Gaszusammensetzung von entscheidender Bedeutung ist.

Beschreibung: Deep seated hydrothermal brines in the North German Basin have a considerable heat potential, which is currently used for geothermal energy recovery in Neustadt-Glewe, Neubrandenburg and Waren. One aim of this study was to reconstruct the origin of these brines and their dissolved substances. Another goalwas to determine geochemical parameters which are critically influence the long-term operation, and hence the econornic viability of geothermal plants. The brines come from aquifers which have been accessed by 5 boreholes (Neubrandenburg, Waren, Rheinsberg, Neustadt-Glewe, Hamburg-Allermöhe) in depths from 1250 to 3250 m (54 to 128 °C). All investigated Na-Cl-brines were produced from sandstone aquifers of the Keuper (Contorta!Postera layers). Typically, TDS-values (134 to 224 g/1) increase with depth. The compositions of the dissolved solids were constant during 3 years. The Br/Cl ratios of the brines are lower than evaporated sea water. This, and 811B-values of +23.8 %o up to +36.3 %o indicate dissolution/leaching of salt as the origin of the salt content. The gas-water volume ratio of samples from brines used for geothermal energy recovery are less than around 1:10. The gas phase is dorninated by C02, N2 and C~ with higher C02- and C~ contents with increasing depths. He, Ar, H2 and other hydrocarbons exist as traces ( 〈1 vol.% each). The gas phase of the thermal water from Neustadt-Giewe showed no changes in its composition during 2 years. Small · periodical variations in the concentrations obtained from gas monitaring over several days correlate with the earth tides. The N2-Ar-He ratios show that the waters are deep-circulating meteoric waters. This interpretation is supported by very low 3HefHe ratios (R!Ra:S;O.Ol), which show no mantle helium, and 40 ArP6 Ar ratios up to 367.5, which are slightly enhanced compared to air (295.5). He accumulation ages, taken as the apparent residence time of the brines, were calculated to be 20 to 50 Ma. Compared to the other locations the formation water from Neustadt-Giewe contained enhanced hydrocarbon contents. The 813C1,2,3 values point to thermogenic hydrocarbons and to a marine source rock with a maturity corresponding to about 1.2 % vitrinite reflectivity. An origin from Corg-rich Zechstein sediments seems probable, organic material from significantly deeper-seated Carboniferous formations can be ruled out. The 8180 and ÖD values of the waters confirm that meteoric water played an important role in the brine genesis. The determined isotopic composition of the meteoric component deviates from recent precipitation and indicates a last contact with the atmosphere at a time when climate conditions were significantly warmer than today. Gases dissolved in thermal waters can significantly affect both the technological suitability of a brine and the operation of a geothermal heat plant (scaling, degassing, occurence of flammable gases). If Corg-rich sedimentary rocks occur, the probability of the occurence of flammable gases increases in waters from larger depths, which are more economic due to their higher temperature. The pressure needed to prevent degassing inside a plant and thus to rninirnize scaling and uncontrolled degassing was calculated for the example of the thermal water cycle at Neustadt-Giewe (brine with the highest gas content). About 2 bars are sufficient to prevent degassing; however, flow effects require increasing the pressure up to about 4 bars. The constant composition of both the dissolved solids and gases over a period of 2 to 3 years is a sign of a relatively large spatial uniformity of the aquifers. Therefore the continuous operation of the plants seems unlikely to be endangered by a change in the chernical composition of the brines. The results of this study have shown that during the hydrodynarnic reconnaissance as weil as during the operation of a geothermal heat plant, precise knowlegde of the gas concentration is of essential importance.

Beschreibung: Receiver function analysis is routinely used to isolates P-to-S converted waves from a complex of earthquake recordings s as to explore crustal and upper mantle structures and to infer possible geodynamic processes within the Earth. In the last several years the number of deployments of portable seismic arrays has been greatly increased. The conventional receiver function method, which stacks receiver functions at a single station, is not suitable for such a large amount of data. In this thesis modifications of the receiver function method have been made. Techniques of reflection seismology have been introduced into the receiver function analysis. Modified receiver function method has been successfully applied to the seismological data acquired in Tibet and the Central Andes. In these two Earth"s largest and highest plateaus, data of many available seismic broadband and short-period experiments have been collected. In Tibet, data of the INDEPTH II and GEDEPTH I experiments in southern Tibet and the PASSCAL 91/92 experiment across the central Tibetan Plateau have been combined. A Total number of about 50 stations were distributed roughly in a NNE directed profile. More than 900 receiver functions have been obtained. In the Central Andes, more than 200 stations have been deployed within the experiments of PISCO, CINCA, ANCORP, PUNA and KDS of the project of the SFB 267, and the BANJO and SEDA broadband arrays of the PASSCAL experiments. More than 640 teleseismic receiver functions have been obtained. Results are summarized in the following. (1) Crustal thicknesses under the two plateaus are reliably determined by Teleseismic receiver functions. P-to-S converted waves at the Moho are clearly seen under the Tibetan plateau and under Central Andean plateau. In southern Tibet the Moho is 75-80 km deep. In northern Tibet it becomes shallower to a depth of 55-60 km. In the Central Andes, the continental Moho is 65-70 km deep beneath the Andean Plateau (it appears to be 15 km shallower beneath Puna than beneath Altiplano). The Moho abruptly reduces its depth beneath the eastern edge of the Eastern Cordillera (65-64.5°W) and remains 45-50 km depth in the Sub Andes. Further east there is another abrupt reduction of Moho depth between the Sub Andes and the Chaco Plain. The Moho is 30-35 km beneath the Chaco Plain. (2) Evidence of crustal-scale underthrusting is found in Tibet as well as in the Andes. The INDEPTH data clearly show an intra-crustal phase at a depth of 50-60 km in the southern Tibet. This conversion boundary is probably the evidence of the underthrust Indian crust. In the Andean data a more than 300 km west-dipping intra-crustal converter evidently marks the boundary of the underthrust Brazilian shield crust. This boundary exists across the entire Altiplano and Puna plateau from 20 km depth below the Eastern Cordillera to 40 km depth below the Western Cordillera and the Precordillera. In both plateaus, most of the thickened crust, if not all, can be attributed to the crustal-scale underthrusting. (3) Plate boundaries are found to a depth of about 250 km between the Indian and the Asian lithospheric mantle and to a depth of about 120 km between the Nazca plate and the South American plate. However, the nature of these boundaries is different. In the Central Andes, the plate boundary is interpreted as the oceanic Moho of the Nazca plate, above which a 10 km layer of oceanic crust with lower seismic velocity suggests that the gabbroic rocks do not completely transform to eclogite until a depth of 120 km. Most of the intermediate depth seismicity stops at the same depth, suggesting a relation with phase transformation. In Tibet the observed plate boundary of the two lithosperic mantles probably reflects the temperature difference between the two plates. The cold Indian mantle is subducted under the warm Asian mantle. The Temperature difference can be as high as 500.700 ° resulting in large seismic velocity contrast. (4) Interesting variations have been found in the upper mantle discontinuities which are related to the plate collision and subduction processes. In Tibet, the 410 km discontinuity is clearly seen in its globally average depth in the south, and is disturbed and becomes complicated in the north. The 660 km discontinuity is continuously displayed throughout the Tibetan profile. Similarly, in the Central Andes, the 410 km discontinuity is not imaged coherently, which is obviously attributed to the subduction complexity of the phase transformation of the mantle rocks. It is interesting to see that the 660 km discontinuity is depressed by about 30-40 km in the region of the cold Nazca slab, which corresponds to a temperature reduction of 300-600° within the slab.