38 research outputs found

    Long-period ocean sound waves constrain shallow slip and tsunamis in megathrust ruptures

    Get PDF
    Great earthquakes along subduction-zone plate boundaries, like the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki, Japan, event, deform the seafloor to generate massive tsunamis. Tsunami wave heights near shore are greatest when excitation occurs far offshore near the trench, where water depths are greatest and fault slip is shallow. Unfortunately the rupture process there is poorly constrained with land-based geodetic and even seafloor deformation measurements. Here we demonstrate, through dynamic rupture simulations of the Tohoku event, that long-period sound waves in the ocean, observable with ocean-bottom pressure sensors and/or seismometers, can resolve the shallow rupture process and tsunami excitation near the trench. These waves could potentially be used to improve local tsunami early warning systems

    Stable coupling of nonconforming, high-order finite difference methods

    Get PDF
    The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1137/15M1022823A methodology for handling block-to-block coupling of nonconforming, multiblock summation-by-parts finite difference methods is proposed. The coupling is based on the construction of projection operators that move a finite difference grid solution along an interface to a space of piecewise defined functions; we specifically consider discontinuous, piecewise polynomial functions. The constructed projection operators are compatible with the underlying summation-by-parts energy norm. Using the linear wave equation in two dimensions as a model problem, energy stability of the coupled numerical method is proven for the case of curved, nonconforming block-to-block interfaces. To further demonstrate the power of the coupling procedure, we show how it allows for the development of a provably energy stable coupling between curvilinear finite difference methods and a curved-triangle discontinuous Galerkin method. The theoretical results are verified through numerical solutions on curved meshes as well as eigenvalue analysis.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

    An energy stable approach for discretizing hyperbolic equations with nonconforming discontinuous Galerkin methods

    Get PDF
    When nonconforming, discontinuous Galerkin methods are implemented for hyperbolic equations using quadrature, exponential energy growth can result even when the underlying scheme with exact integration does not support such growth. Using linear elasticity as a model problem, we proposes a skew-symmetric formulation that has the same energy stability properties for both exact and inexact, quadrature-based integration. These stability properties are maintained even when the material properties are variable and discontinuous, and the elements non-affine (e.g., curved). The analytic stability results are confirmed through numerical experiments demonstrating the stability as well as the accuracy of the method.National Science Foundation (NSF)Office of Naval Research (ONR)EAR-1547596 (NSF)N0001416WX02190 (ONR

    Community Code Verification Exercise for Simulating Sequences of Earthquakes and Aseismic Slip (SEAS)

    Get PDF
    Numerical simulations of sequences of earthquakes and aseismic slip (SEAS) have made great progress over past decades to address important questions in earthquake physics. However, significant challenges in SEAS modeling remain in resolving multiscale interactions between earthquake nucleation, dynamic rupture, and aseismic slip, and understanding physical factors controlling observables such as seismicity and ground deformation. The increasing complexity of SEAS modeling calls for extensive efforts to verify codes and advance these simulations with rigor, reproducibility, and broadened impact. In 2018, we initiated a community code‐verification exercise for SEAS simulations, supported by the Southern California Earthquake Center. Here, we report the findings from our first two benchmark problems (BP1 and BP2), designed to verify different computational methods in solving a mathematically well‐defined, basic faulting problem. We consider a 2D antiplane problem, with a 1D planar vertical strike‐slip fault obeying rate‐and‐state friction, embedded in a 2D homogeneous, linear elastic half‐space. Sequences of quasi‐dynamic earthquakes with periodic occurrences (BP1) or bimodal sizes (BP2) and their interactions with aseismic slip are simulated. The comparison of results from 11 groups using different numerical methods show excellent agreements in long‐term and coseismic fault behavior. In BP1, we found that truncated domain boundaries influence interseismic stressing, earthquake recurrence, and coseismic rupture, and that model agreement is only achieved with sufficiently large domain sizes. In BP2, we found that complexity of fault behavior depends on how well physical length scales related to spontaneous nucleation and rupture propagation are resolved. Poor numerical resolution can result in artificial complexity, impacting simulation results that are of potential interest for characterizing seismic hazard such as earthquake size distributions, moment release, and recurrence times. These results inform the development of more advanced SEAS models, contributing to our further understanding of earthquake system dynamics

    Community Code Verification Exercise for Simulating Sequences of Earthquakes and Aseismic Slip (SEAS)

    Get PDF
    Numerical simulations of sequences of earthquakes and aseismic slip (SEAS) have made great progress over past decades to address important questions in earthquake physics. However, significant challenges in SEAS modeling remain in resolving multiscale interactions between earthquake nucleation, dynamic rupture, and aseismic slip, and understanding physical factors controlling observables such as seismicity and ground deformation. The increasing complexity of SEAS modeling calls for extensive efforts to verify codes and advance these simulations with rigor, reproducibility, and broadened impact. In 2018, we initiated a community code‐verification exercise for SEAS simulations, supported by the Southern California Earthquake Center. Here, we report the findings from our first two benchmark problems (BP1 and BP2), designed to verify different computational methods in solving a mathematically well‐defined, basic faulting problem. We consider a 2D antiplane problem, with a 1D planar vertical strike‐slip fault obeying rate‐and‐state friction, embedded in a 2D homogeneous, linear elastic half‐space. Sequences of quasi‐dynamic earthquakes with periodic occurrences (BP1) or bimodal sizes (BP2) and their interactions with aseismic slip are simulated. The comparison of results from 11 groups using different numerical methods show excellent agreements in long‐term and coseismic fault behavior. In BP1, we found that truncated domain boundaries influence interseismic stressing, earthquake recurrence, and coseismic rupture, and that model agreement is only achieved with sufficiently large domain sizes. In BP2, we found that complexity of fault behavior depends on how well physical length scales related to spontaneous nucleation and rupture propagation are resolved. Poor numerical resolution can result in artificial complexity, impacting simulation results that are of potential interest for characterizing seismic hazard such as earthquake size distributions, moment release, and recurrence times. These results inform the development of more advanced SEAS models, contributing to our further understanding of earthquake system dynamics
    corecore