Project Info


Exploring Earth’s mantle with 3D numerical seismic wave simulations

Ebru Bozdag | bozdag@mines.edu

High-performance computing and 3D numerical wave propagation solvers are refining our understanding of Earth’s deep interior and dynamics that directly control surface processes such as earthquakes and volcanic activity. The goal of this project is to investigate how well recently developed global seismic models based on adjoint tomography and 3D wave simulations (e.g., Bozdag et al. 2016) explain Earth’s mantle. We will compute 3D seismograms using various (an)elastic global models and compare them the observed seismic waveforms of major and more exotic seismic waves. We will perform statistical analysis both globally and regionally focusing on major plume features in the mantle such as at Hawaii, Yellowstone, Iceland, Tahiti, etc. Our systematic statistical analysis will help us to gain insight, for instance, whether long-wavelength scattering and multipathing are as significant as seismic-wave attenuation by Earth’s anelasticity, the effect of uncertainties in earthquake source parameters in imaging. Ultimately, we will be able to better interpret the composition and the dynamical structure of Earth’s mantle down to D” region.

More Information

1) Bozdag, E., Peter, D., Lefebvre, M., Komatitsch, D., Tromp, J., Hill, J., Podhorszki, N. & Pugmire, D., 2016. Global Adjoint Tomography: First-generation model, Geophys. J. Int., 207(3), 1739-1766, doi: 10.1093/gji/ggw356.
2) Komatitsch, D., Ritsema, J., and Tromp, J., 2002. The spectral-element method, Beowulf computing, and global seismology, Science, 298, 1737–1742
3) https://www.olcf.ornl.gov/2017/03/28/a-seismic-mapping-milestone/
4) https://sciencenode.org/feature/riding-the-3d-seismic-wave.php

 

Grand Engineering Challenge: Not applicable

Student Preparation


Qualifications

Basic elastic wave theory, 3rd-year undergraduate mathematics (e.g., Fourier analysis, PDEs) and programming skills (e.g., Python and/or Fortran90/95). Most importantly, enthusiasm and motivation for understanding the structure and dynamics of the Earth and learning & demonstrating new things.

Time Commitment

16-20 hours/month

Skills/Techniques Gained

Numerical simulations of seismic wave propagation (primarily with the spectral-element method)
Global and earthquake seismology
A global-perspective to understand Earth’s interior and its dynamics
Processing and interpreting seismic data
Statistical methods
Ability of running on HPC systems

Mentoring Plan

Student-advisor meetings every week/two weeks.
Student recommended attending graduate level seminars on global geophysics.
Additional interaction with Geophysics graduate students as required.