Viscoelastic Initial-Value Problems on GPU

The main purpose of the book is to introduce GPU programming to geoscience students by means of a well-known geophysical phenomenon with immense societal relevance. We will use this strategy to introduce the basic rudiments of GPU computing to ambitious geophysics or geological students by way of initial-value problems. The initial-value problems associated with viscoelasticity (VIP) in the geosciences are postglacial rebound, post-seismic deformation, tidal dissipation, seismology and rotational dynamics. These will illustrate very well the basic usage of GPU in geosciences and help to communicate to the readers the current knowhow of GPU technology in terms of general background, possibilities and basic coding procedures. Furthermore, the initial-value approach offers the alternative technique for the modeling that has been made in the past by normal-mode analysis or relaxation-time analysis because of computational limitations of the hardware available before the 21st century.