THE EASY WAY TO COMPUTATIONAL GEODYNAMICS

Advanced computational methods play an increasing role in the Earth sciences however the students and professionals willing to learn numerical modeling in geophysics and geodynamics need to first climb a steep learning curve before being able to run effective models, or they have to rely on professional software of which they have a limited understanding. I present here a series of examples entirely written in Python, that combine the simplicity of Matlab with the power and speed of compiled languages such as C, applied to a wide range of geological processes such as porous media flow, multiphase liquid-gas dynamics, creeping flow, multiple faults interaction, as well as their application to mantle and crustal scale geodynamics. I show that by using Python graduate as well as undergraduate students can learn advanced numerical technologies with a minimum dedicated effort, which in turn encourages them to develop more numerical tools and quickly progress in their computational abilitires. I conclude by showing that Python is an ideal tool to create an infrastructure for geosciences that allows users to quickly develop tools, reuse techniques and encourage collaborative efforts to interpret and integrate geo-data in profound new ways.