Educational Earthquake Visualization

尽管地震和地震学在地球科学中扮演着重要的角色，但到目前为止，还没有好的方法来可视化地震产生的波在整个地球传播的过程。这些地震波很重要，因为它们在世界许多地方造成破坏，被用来确定地震的位置和大小，也是地质学家绘制地球内部图的手段。由于没有办法可视化地震波在地震后在地球上传播的过程，所以很难解释这种现象，也很难让学生理解它。困难之处在于，制作这样一部动画需要先进的地球物理算法、高速计算能力，以及将这些研究能力用于教育目的的强烈奉献精神。这个项目通过制作计算机图形彩色动画来满足这一需求，该动画准确地表示地震中地震波的传播，以VHS视频和计算机格式提供给教育工作者。这个项目是基于PI最近制作的这样一个视频动画的原型。制作地震波在地球上传播的逼真可视化是计算密集型的。该原型在Sun SparcStation 10/41上进行了5个月的计算。这部动画不仅将让观众直观地感受我们星球的内部结构和分层，还将教授应用于地球的波物理原理，展示波在我们星球的不同层中的反射、折射和绕射。计算机动画将被讲述，呈现关于地震的教育性讨论，它们的破坏性能力，它们与板块构造的关系，以及它们在绘制地球内部细节图中的作用。

Despite the important role that earthquakes and seismology play in the Earth sciences, there has been up until now no good way to visualize the process by which an earthquake generates waves that propagate throughout the Earth. These seismic waves are important because they cause destruction in many parts of the world, are used to determine the location and size of the earthquakes, and are the means by which geologists have mapped out the interior of the Earth. Without a way to visualize the process of seismic waves spreading throughout the Earth after an earthquake, it has been very hard to explain this phenomenon and for students to understand it. The difficultly lies in the fact that the production of such an animation requires advanced geophysical algorithms, high-speed computational capabilities, and a strong dedication to use these research capabilities for an educational purpose. This project meets this need by producing a computer-graphics color animation that accurately represents the propagation of seismic waves from an earthquake, available to educators in both VHS-video and computer formats. The project is based on a prototype of such a video-animation recently made by the PI. The production of a realistic visualization of earthquake wave propagation through the Earth is computation ally intensive. The prototype took 5 months of computation on a Sun Sparcstation 10/41. The animation will not only give viewers an intuitive feel for the internal structure and layering of our planet, but also teach the principle of wave physics applied to the Earth, showing waves reflecting, refracting, and diffracting along the different layers within our planet. The computer animation will be narrated, presenting an educational discussion of earthquakes, their destructive capabilities, their relation to plate tectonics, and their role in mapping the details of the interior of the Earth.