Seismology and Wave Physics

The group led by Andreas Fichtner makes use of recordings of seismic waves, GPS data on deformations of the Earth’s surface, and data on the Earth’s gravitational field as a means  of better understanding the structure and evolution of the Earth and the characteristics of large earthquakes. The most important tool are computer simulations of seismic wave propagation and of earthquake processes in geologically active regions of the world. These simulations take advantage of modern supercomputers such as Monte Rosa and Piz Daint at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Lugano. With the aid of graphics devices originally developed for use in image processing for video games, the state-of-the-art CSCS supercomputers are able to calculate seismic waves and earthquakes with a degree of precision that would take a conventional desktop computer more than 100 million years to achieve.

This combination of modern mathematical methods of computer simulation, along with the availability of high-performance computers at the CSCS, make it possible to study the structure and dynamics of the Earth with unprecedented accuracy. Enormous amounts of data can be exploited, which a regular computer would not be able to process, let alone store.

Interdisciplinary cooperation is key to the work of this group, which functions as a link between  various branches of the natural sciences, ranging from mathematics and physics to information technology and seismology, to geodynamics, tectonics and geology.