5th Munich Earth Skience School

What is under the hood of current seismic simulation software (e.g., seissol, axisem, specfem) aiming at 3-D wave propagation solutions? The goal of this winter school is to teach elements of numerical methods that constitute current elastic wave simulation software. The methods we will discuss include the finite-difference method, aspects of pseudospectral methods and the spectral element method, as well as the Discontinuous Galerkin Method. We will address questions like 1) What is numerical dispersion, how can I recognise it and how can I avoid it? 2) What operators should I use for accurate simulations? 3) How do the methods compare and what are their domains of application? 4) What are the main mathematical differences of the methods and what is the impact on the applications? The differences of the various methods will be illustrated with simple 1D (or 2D) codes written in Python.  Results will be visualized and analyzed with Python/ObsPy. The goal is NOT to make you familiar with specific community simulation software but to make you aware of some of the traps in forward modelling by highlighting the key mathematical features of the methods (finite differencing, numerical interpolation and integration, harmonic averaging, convergence behavior, etc.). Target participants are senior undergraduates, junior postgraduates interested in using simulation software and researchers making use of community codes who are interested in the underlying methodologies. Participants will be provided with a book draft on this winter school's topics.