NA-SWS-1.1: A uniform database of teleseismic shear wave splitting measurements for North America

[1] This version of shear wave splitting (SWS) database (DB) for North America (NA) contains 6224 pairs of splitting parameters (fast polarization directions and splitting times) measured using all the available data recorded by digital broadband seismic stations over the period of 1980–2007 and archived at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center. The measurements were produced using a set of robust procedures that involve automated batch processing and manual screening and were ranked quantitatively on the basis of a uniform criterion. The result is a homogeneous database of individual (rather than station-averaged) splitting parameters that can be used by a variety of geoscientists for the understanding of the structure and dynamics of the Earth’s deep interior beneath NA. This data brief describes the seismic data and techniques used to generate the SWS results, the spatial and azimuthal coverage, and the limitations of the DB. The DB will be periodically updated and enhanced by adding newly recorded data and by measuring splitting parameters using the PKS and SKKS phases in addition to SKS. The database can be accessed at http://www.mst.edu/ liukh/SWS.