SCEC Award Number 13061 View PDF
Proposal Category Collaborative Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title A Collaborative Project: Rupture Dynamics, Validation of the Numerical Simulation Method
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Ruth Harris United States Geological Survey Jean-Paul Ampuero California Institute of Technology Michael Barall Invisible Software Benchun Duan Texas A&M University Jeremy Kozdon United States Navy Nadia Lapusta California Institute of Technology Shuo Ma San Diego State University Brad Aagaard United States Geological Survey Ralph Archuleta University of California, Santa Barbara Victor Cruz-Atienza Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) Luis Dalguer Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (Switzerland) Eric Dunham Stanford University Steven Day San Diego State University Alice Gabriel Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany) Yoshihiro Kaneko GNS Science (New Zealand) Yuko Kase National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan) David Oglesby University of California, Riverside Kim Olsen San Diego State University Christian Pelties Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany) Daniel Roten Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (Switzerland)
Other Participants At least 5 more students and postdocs.
SCEC Priorities 3, 4, 6 SCEC Groups CME, FARM, CS
Report Due Date 03/15/2014 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
 This multi-co-PI collaborative project includes SCEC investigators (senior PI's, postdocs, students) from multiple countries who participate in spontaneous rupture code benchmark comparisons and scientific discussions. These code comparisons are conducted so as to test the spontaneous rupture computer codes used to computationally simulate dynamic earthquake rupture. Unlike some other methods that might be implemented to examine or simulate large earthquakes, spontaneous earthquake rupture computer codes are complex, and there are no mathematical solutions that can easily be used to test if the codes are working as expected. To remedy this problem, we compare the results produced by each code with the results produced by other codes. If when using the same assumptions about fault-friction, initial stress conditions, fault geometry, and material properties, the codes all produce the same results, such as rupture-front patterns and synthetic seismograms, then we are more confident that the codes are operating as intended. Please see our group’s website http://www.scecdata.edu/cvws for more information about our collaborative scientific project. As of early-March 2014 we have 8.6 GB of simulation data and 39 completed benchmarks. We have had 36 participating modelers and codes, 100,000 modeler-uploaded files, and 14 requested results per benchmark, on average. This has led to more than 560,000 pairs of modeling results to compare. We have all-along been comparing our results qualitatively, and In early 2014 we conducted our first quantitative metrics of these results. With this project we continue to improve our understanding and implementation of dynamic earthquake rupture simulations.
Intellectual Merit This activity (along with the related workshop) is where broad-scale research communication and collaboration is nucleated and propagated in the worldwide dynamic rupture community. WIth each yearly set of benchmark assignments we discuss and learn new science and new science implementations.
Broader Impacts Our group project is where worldwide modelers come to test their codes' implementations of earthquake physics and ground motion synthetics. This work has application beyond being an academic exercise in that our results can be used for earthquake source modeling and estimates of ground motion hazards.
Exemplary Figure figure 4b? my figures aren't that exciting, mostly the results are exciting.