Locating earthquakes and underground nuclear explosions using applied optimization

• Main Author: Ding, William Si Hao
• Other Authors: Tong Ping
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Mathematics::Applied mathematics::Optimization
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76211
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Earthquakes are prevalent around the world. With the possibility of recurrent earthquakes damag- ing settlements and properties, it is of paramount importance for governments to know the location of earthquakes for future urban planning. This research designs an algorithm using the basic ray tracing theory and the concept which most earthquakes relocation studies applied: Geiger’s Partial Differential Equations. Two algorithms are designed for two different mathematical models, ho- mogeneous and heterogeneous. In the latter case, seismic ray tracing is done in a two-layer model where Snell’s law has to be observed for the bending of ray at the intersection point. The algorithm has been implemented using data collected in the Sumatra region. The study has shown that the algorithm relocates earthquakes with accuracy for a domain of convergence. The research can be applied to research on underground nuclear explosions since they released the similar amount of energy as earthquakes.