Citation: | Wen, L. X., and Yu, S. (2023). The China Seismological Reference Model project. Earth Planet. Phys., 7(5), 521–532. doi: 10.26464/epp2023078 |
The importance of developing high-resolution seismic models to improve understanding of tectonic processes and enhance seismic hazard mitigation programs, along with the rapid expansion of seismic coverage in China, called for a seismological reference model to be established in China. The China Seismological Reference Model (CSRM) project was initiated by the National Natural Science Foundation of China with two primary goals: (1) the CSRM would serve as a primary source for the current state of seismological research in China, and (2) the seismic data and constraints used to construct the CSRM would be used as a backbone open-access cyberinfrastructure for future research in seismology. The CSRM project was also intended to promote data exchange and scientific collaboration in seismology in China. Accordingly, two parallel efforts of the project are being pursued: (1) construction of the CSRM, and (2) development of a CSRM product center. The CSRM is jointly constrained by various types of seismic constraints extracted from the seismic data recorded at 4511 seismic stations in continental China following a top-down approach, with the seismic structures in the shallower part of the Earth constrained first. Construction of the CSRM involves three preparation steps: (1) building datasets of various seismic constraints from the seismic data, (2) developing a method to incorporate the constraints of surface wave observations from regional earthquakes into the inversion of the seismic structure, and (3) constructing high-resolution pre-CSRM seismic models of the velocity structure in the shallow crust and the