Resumen
In computational seismology, receiver functions represent the impulse response for the earth structure beneath a seismic station and, in general, these are functionals that show several seismic phases in the time-domain related to discontinuities within the crust and the upper mantle. This paper introduces a new technique called generalized pattern search (GPS) for inverting receiver functions to obtain the depth of the crust?mantle discontinuity, i.e., the crustal thickness H, and the ratio of crustal P-wave velocity Vp to S-wave velocity Vs. In particular, the GPS technique, which is a direct search method, does not need derivative or directional vector information. Moreover, the technique allows simultaneous determination of the weights needed for the converted and reverberated phases. Compared to previously introduced variable weights approaches for inverting H-? stacking of receiver functions, with ? = Vp/Vs, the GPS technique has some advantages in terms of saving computational time and also suitability for simultaneous determination of crustal parameters and associated weights. Finally, the technique is tested using seismic data from the East Africa Rift System and it provides results that are consistent with previously published studies.