High-Performance Modelling in Geodynamics

Abstract

Modelling of geodynamic processes like mantle or core convection has strongly improved over the last two decades thanks to the steady development of numerical codes that tend to incorporate a more and more realistic physics. High-performance parallel computations allow the simulation of complex problems, such as the self-consistent generation of tectonic plates or the formation of planetary magnetic fields. However, the need to perform broad explorations of the parameter space and the large computational demands imposed by the non-linear, multi-scale nature of convection, requires several simplifications, in the domain geometry as well as in the physical complexity of the problem. In this chapter, the authors give an overview of the state-of-the-art convection simulations in planetary mantles, the different models and geometries used, and various methods to simplify the computations.