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Comparison of adaptive time-stepping algorithms for simulating sequences of earthquakes and aseismic slip

Yanke Song, Valere R. Lambert, & Nadia Lapusta

In Preparation May 3, 2020, SCEC Contribution #10087

Modeling earthquake behavior involves resolving the complex interaction of processes active across timescales ranging from hundreds to thousands of years of tectonic loading, down to milliseconds during the dynamic rupture process. To make such problems computationally feasible, simulations of sequences of earthquakes and aseismic slip (SEAS) employ adaptive time-stepping algorithms in order to optimally sample the temporal evolution of fault behavior. The choice of time steps during the dynamic and quasi-static phases of fault slip can impact the accuracy and long-term evolution of the computed quantities (e.g. fault slip, slip rates, and stresses) as well as the computational cost of such simulations. Here, we study the simulations of SEAS with various adaptive time-stepping algorithms, comparing long-term fault behavior as well as the computational costs in terms of the total number of simulated time steps. We begin with the quasi-dynamic formulation of 2D antiplane problems based on the first and second benchmark simulations from the SEAS code comparison exercises supported by the Southern California Earthquake Center.

Citation
Song, Y., Lambert, V. R., & Lapusta, N. (2020). Comparison of adaptive time-stepping algorithms for simulating sequences of earthquakes and aseismic slip. Seismological Research Letters, (in preparation).