Background Earthquakes are amongst the most costly and deadly of all natural phenomena. An overwhelming majority of the world's earthquakes strike APEC member economies located around the Pacific Rim. Much remains unknown about the earthquake generation process, hampering earthquake mitigation and forecasting efforts. However, recent developments in earthquake physics, numerical simulations, and High Performance Computing offer the possibility of modelling the entire earthquake generation process. An earthquake simulated using a 2D particle-based Lattice Solid Model.
Colours represent ground-velocity due to slip along a fault which bisects the model.
Earthquake simulations Earthquake generation is controlled by a vast range of physical processes occuring over many orders of magnitude of scale in space and time. At the smallest scales, these processes include microscopic frictional interactions within fault zones and rock fracture. Motions of tectonic plates and mantle convection are important at the largest scales. At present, no simulation model exists for the entire range of scales involved. However, a number of research groups in ACES are making advances in simulating some of the processes responsible for earthquakes.