ECOMAN: an open-source package for geodynamic and seismological modeling of mechanical anisotropy

Abstract. Mechanical anisotropy related to rock fabrics is a proxy for constraining the Earth’s deformation patterns. However, the forward and inverse modelling of mechanical anisotropy in 3D large-scale domains has been traditionally hampered by the intensive computational cost and the lack of a dedicated, open-source computational framework. Here we introduce ECOMAN, a software package for modelling strain-/stress-induced rock fabrics and testing the effects of the resulting elastic and viscous anisotropy on seismic imaging and mantle convection patterns. Differently from existing analogous software, the modelling of strain-induced fabrics has been extended to all mantle levels and it has been optimised to run across multiple CPUs, yielding strong scaling efficiency. In addition, shape preferred orientation (SPO)-related structures can be modelled and superimposed over lattice/crystallographic preferred orientation (LPO/CPO) fabrics, which allows the consideration of the mechanical effects of fluid-filled cracks, foliated/lineated grain-scale fabrics and rock-scale layering. One of the most important innovations is the Platform for Seismic Imaging (PSI), a set of programs for performing forward and inverse seismic modelling in isotropic/anisotropic media using real or synthetic seismic datasets. The anisotropic inversion strategy is capable of recovering parameters describing a tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) medium, which is required to reconstruct 3D structures and mantle strain patterns and to validate geodynamic models.