Practical Finite ElementModeling in Earth Science Using Matlab

Over the past few decades, mathematical models have become an increasingly important tool for Earth scientists to understand and make predictions about how our planet functions and evolves through time and space. These models often consist of partial differential equations (PDEs) that are discretized with a numerical method and solved on a computer.Themost commonly used discretization methods are the finite difference method (FDM), the finite volume method, the finite element method (FEM), the discrete element method, the boundary element method, and various spectral methods.