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U.S. Department of Energy
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Simulating high-frequency seismograms in complicated media: A spectral approach

Conference ·
OSTI ID:91018
;  [1]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

The main attraction of using a spectral method instead of a conventional finite difference or finite element technique for full-wavefield forward modeling in elastic media is the increased accuracy of a spectral approximation. While a finite difference method accurate to second order typically requires 8 to 10 computational grid points to resolve the smallest wavelengths on a 1-D grid, a spectral method that approximates the wavefield by trignometric functions theoretically requires only 2 grid points per minimum wavelength and produces no numerical dispersion from the spatial discretization. The resultant savings in computer memory, which is very significant in 2 and 3 dimensions, allows for larger scale and/or higher frequency simulations.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
OSTI ID:
91018
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--93-3839; CONF-930397--; ON: DE95003509
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English