Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0
Isostasy is one of the oldest and most widely applied concepts in the geosciences, but the geoscientific community lacks a coherent, easy-to-use tool to simulate flexure of a realistic (i.e., laterally heterogeneous) lithosphere under an arbitrary set of surface loads. Such a model is needed for stu...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:gmd29423 2023-05-15T16:38:19+02:00 Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0 Wickert, A. D. 2018-09-27 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016 https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/9/997/2016/ eng eng doi:10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016 https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/9/997/2016/ eISSN: 1991-9603 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016 2020-07-20T16:24:15Z Isostasy is one of the oldest and most widely applied concepts in the geosciences, but the geoscientific community lacks a coherent, easy-to-use tool to simulate flexure of a realistic (i.e., laterally heterogeneous) lithosphere under an arbitrary set of surface loads. Such a model is needed for studies of mountain building, sedimentary basin formation, glaciation, sea-level change, and other tectonic, geodynamic, and surface processes. Here I present gFlex (for GNU flexure), an open-source model that can produce analytical and finite difference solutions for lithospheric flexure in one (profile) and two (map view) dimensions. To simulate the flexural isostatic response to an imposed load, it can be used by itself or within GRASS GIS for better integration with field data. gFlex is also a component with the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS) and Landlab modeling frameworks for coupling with a wide range of Earth-surface-related models, and can be coupled to additional models within Python scripts. As an example of this in-script coupling, I simulate the effects of spatially variable lithospheric thickness on a modeled Iceland ice cap. Finite difference solutions in gFlex can use any of five types of boundary conditions: 0-displacement, 0-slope (i.e., clamped); 0-slope, 0-shear; 0-moment, 0-shear (i.e., broken plate); mirror symmetry; and periodic. Typical calculations with gFlex require ≪ 1 s to ∼ 1 min on a personal laptop computer. These characteristics – multiple ways to run the model, multiple solution methods, multiple boundary conditions, and short compute time – make gFlex an effective tool for flexural isostatic modeling across the geosciences. Text Ice cap Iceland Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Geoscientific Model Development 9 3 997 1017 |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
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Isostasy is one of the oldest and most widely applied concepts in the geosciences, but the geoscientific community lacks a coherent, easy-to-use tool to simulate flexure of a realistic (i.e., laterally heterogeneous) lithosphere under an arbitrary set of surface loads. Such a model is needed for studies of mountain building, sedimentary basin formation, glaciation, sea-level change, and other tectonic, geodynamic, and surface processes. Here I present gFlex (for GNU flexure), an open-source model that can produce analytical and finite difference solutions for lithospheric flexure in one (profile) and two (map view) dimensions. To simulate the flexural isostatic response to an imposed load, it can be used by itself or within GRASS GIS for better integration with field data. gFlex is also a component with the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS) and Landlab modeling frameworks for coupling with a wide range of Earth-surface-related models, and can be coupled to additional models within Python scripts. As an example of this in-script coupling, I simulate the effects of spatially variable lithospheric thickness on a modeled Iceland ice cap. Finite difference solutions in gFlex can use any of five types of boundary conditions: 0-displacement, 0-slope (i.e., clamped); 0-slope, 0-shear; 0-moment, 0-shear (i.e., broken plate); mirror symmetry; and periodic. Typical calculations with gFlex require ≪ 1 s to ∼ 1 min on a personal laptop computer. These characteristics – multiple ways to run the model, multiple solution methods, multiple boundary conditions, and short compute time – make gFlex an effective tool for flexural isostatic modeling across the geosciences. |
format |
Text |
author |
Wickert, A. D. |
spellingShingle |
Wickert, A. D. Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0 |
author_facet |
Wickert, A. D. |
author_sort |
Wickert, A. D. |
title |
Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0 |
title_short |
Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0 |
title_full |
Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0 |
title_fullStr |
Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0 |
title_sort |
open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gflex v1.0 |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016 https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/9/997/2016/ |
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Ice cap Iceland |
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Ice cap Iceland |
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eISSN: 1991-9603 |
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doi:10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016 https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/9/997/2016/ |
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https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016 |
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