Section: Application Domains

Seismic simulations

Participant : Jean-François Méhaut.

Numerical modeling of seismic wave propagation in complex three-dimensional media is an important research topic in seismology. Several approaches should be studied, and their suitability with respect to the specific constraints of NUMA architectures should be evaluated. These modeling approaches rely on modern numerical schemes such as spectral elements, high-order finite differences or finite elements applied to realistic 3D models. The NUMASIS project focused on issues related to parallel algorithms (distribution, scheduling) in order to optimize computations based on such numerical schemes by taking advantage of execution frameworks developed for NUMA architectures.

These approaches have been tested and validated on applications related to seismic risk assessment. Recent seismic events as those in Asia have evidenced the crucial research and development needs in this field. Some regions in France may as well be prone to such risks (French Riviera, Alps, French Antilles,...) and the experiments in the NUMASIS project has been carried out using some of the available data from these regions.