Geophysics: The spectral-element method, beowulf computing, and global seismology

The propagation of seismic waves through Earth can now be modeled accurately with the recently developed spectral-element method. This method takes into account heterogeneity in Earth models, such as three-dimensional variations of seismic wave velocity, density, and crustal thickness. The method is implemented on relatively inexpensive clusters of personal computers, so-called Beowulf machines. This combination of hardware and software enables us to simulate broadband seismograms without intrinsic restrictions on the level of heterogeneity or the frequency content.