Seismology & Geophysics
Unveiling the Earth's Interior: Earthquake Simulation and Resource Exploration at the Petascale.
Image: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Imaging the Unseen
Geophysics is the science of inverse problems. To reconstruct the Earth's sub-surface architecture, we must solve complex wave equations across heterogeneous tectonic structures. Malgukke delivers the GPU-accelerated clusters and high-throughput storage required for Reverse Time Migration (RTM) and Full Waveform Inversion (FWI).
Earthquake Simulation
Modeling high-frequency wave propagation to assess seismic hazard and protect critical infrastructure.
Resource Exploration
Analyzing 3D seismic data to secure energy and mineral sovereignty through advanced imaging.
Geophysical Logic: Vibration -> Inversion -> Discovery
| Field of Action | HPC / Algorithm | Operational Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Seismic Hazard | Spectral element methods on $10^9$ grid points. | Early Warning & Structural Safety |
| Mineral Sovereignty | Reverse Time Migration (RTM) on multi-GPU nodes. | Precise Target Drill Mapping |
| Geothermal Energy | Coupling seismic data with thermal fluid flow models. | Optimized Sustainable Power Extraction |
Centers of Geophysical Excellence
Voices from the Field
Researchers working across earthquake simulation and subsurface imaging share their insights in recent interviews:
Christian Böhm
Seismology and Wave Physics, ETH Zurich / Mondaic
On bringing supercomputer-grade full-waveform imaging from CSCS out of the lab and into everyday bridge inspection.
Read articleAndreas Fichtner
Professor of Seismology and Wave Physics, ETH Zurich
On computational seismology, from imaging Earth's deep interior to reconstructing the source of large earthquakes.
Read articleSergey Fomel
Wallace E. Pratt Professor of Geophysics, UT Austin / Bureau of Economic Geology
On modern seismic interpretation and what still separates human geophysicists from machines.
Listen to podcastTorsten Dahm
Seismologist, GFZ Potsdam
On why deterministic earthquake prediction remains out of reach, and what statistical hazard maps can and cannot tell us.
Read interviewMalgukke Insight: The High-Throughput Seismic Wall
In geophysics, data volume is the primary barrier to resolution.
A single seismic survey can generate tens of petabytes of raw trace data. The challenge is moving this data into the GPU memory fast enough to allow for iterative Full Waveform Inversion. We build specialized storage tiers using Lustre and NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) to ensure the compute nodes are never starved for data, enabling 3D imaging at resolutions previously thought impossible.