DET

Dynamic Rupture, Earthquake Cycle, and Tsunamis Working Group

Working Group

Dynamic Rupture, Earthquake Cycle, and Tsunamis

The Dynamic Rupture, Earthquake Cycle, and Tsunamis (DET) group is developing models (computer simulations) of earthquakes and tsunamis in Cascadia. The models account for tectonic loading over hundreds of years, slow slip events, and megathrust ruptures. The models, which are built on the structural models developed by the CVM and CFM groups, will be validated against geophysical and geological data from the C3S and CPAL groups. As part of this effort, DET is developing and using open-source modeling software, organizing community code comparison and benchmarking exercises for subduction zone earthquakes, and providing training for external users of the modeling software and workflows.

Dynamic rupture simulation of a subduction zone megathrust rupture, including activation of seaward and landward verging splay faults. Colors show slip rate on the faults and particle velocity (shaking) in the solid (Uphoff et al., SC’19).

Major Activities

Timeline

Community Product

Code Verification Exercises

Earthquake modeling requires solution of mathematical equations describing fault slip and deformation of the surrounding rocks and ocean. Code verification efforts are critical to ensure that modeling codes are correctly solving these equations. The DET group will develop a set of benchmark problems, covering different aspects of dynamic rupture, tsunami generation, and earthquake cycle modeling, for use by the international community. The benchmark problem descriptions will be available on CRESCENT’s website, which will also permit modelers to upload simulation results and compare them to those of other modeling groups using built-in visualization capabilities.

VERIFICATION PLATFORM

Community Product

Dynamic Rupture and Tsunami Generation Models

Dynamic rupture simulations model earthquake rupture propagation on time scales of seconds to minutes. They provide the seismic wavefield as well as the seafloor uplift that sources the tsunami. Tsunami propagation and inundation are typically done in a second step, using different modeling software. The DET group will develop a set of self-consistent earthquake and tsunami source models, validated against paleoseismic data, for use in hazard assessment. The models will increase in sophistication over the course of the CRESCENT project as more detailed structural models are developed. The modeling workflows and open-source software will be available to the community to facilitate exploration of alternative assumptions and sources.

rupture MODEL VIEWER

Community Product

Earthquake Cycle Models

Earthquake cycle models span thousands of years of tectonic loading, aseismic slip, slow slip events, and earthquakes. They are used to understand how geologic variations across the subduction zone, which affect the frictional properties, fluid production, and fault strength, translate into spatial variations in slip behavior. They can also be used to explore the relation between slow slip events, which happen every year or two, megathrust ruptures, and crustal faulting in the overriding plate. The DET group will develop a set of earthquake cycle models of increasing complexity that will ultimately account for fluid production by dehydration reactions, pore pressure dynamics, and viscoelastic rock deformation–processes hypothesized to influence slip behavior. The modeling workflows and open-source software will be available to the community to facilitate exploration of alternative assumptions and sources.

Cycle MODEL VIEWER

FAIR Science

Data, Code, Documentation, and Publications

CRESCENT is committed to open, reproducible science. The foundations upon which DET community products are built can be found in the links provided below.

Data

Data used to create DET community products can be found at the link below.

Coming soon

Code

Code used to create DET community products can be found at the link below.

Coming soon

Docs

Documentation of DET community products can be found at the link below.

Coming soon

Pubs

Publications relevant to DET community products can be found at the link below.

Coming soon

Meet The Team

DET Membership

The DET leadership team bring expertise across many aspects of earthquake and tsunami modeling. The expertise includes the development of computer simulation codes and harnessing the power of supercomputers, performing data-constrained simulations of megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis, and strong ground motion modeling for seismic hazard assessment. DET leaders will build collaborations within and outside of CRESCENT to construct state-of-the-art models of the Cascadia subduction, both to further understanding of the processes controlling slip and deformation across the fault system and to provide actionable hazard assessments. Model and code development will be performed in a flexible manner in open-source codes to permit the broader community with tools to facilitate exploration of alternative physics and model parameterizations. The DET group will also bring together the international community of subduction zone earthquake modelers, providing a set of benchmark problems for verifying the accuracy of different codes for dynamic rupture and earthquake cycle modeling.