ASPECT is a code to simulate convection and tectonic processes in Earth and other planetary bodies. It has grown from a pure mantle-convection code into a tool for many geodynamic applications including applications for inner core convection, lithospheric scale deformation, two-phase flow, and numerical methods development. The project is supported by CIG (https://geodynamics.org).

The steps to install the necessary dependencies and ASPECT itself are described in the Installation instructions section of the ASPECT manual. If you encounter problems during the installation, please consult our wiki for typical installation problems or specific instructions for MacOS users, before asking your question on the forum.

In short, ASPECT is configured using CMake and has the following requirements:

• CMake 3.13.4
• GCC, Clang, or Intel compiler with C++14 support
• deal.II 9.5.0 or newer configured with:
  • MPI, Trilinos, p4est, SUNDIALS (required)
  • BLAS/LAPACK, zlib (strongly recommended)
  • HDF5 (optional)
• optional: PerpleX, LIBDAP, NETCDF

Instructions on how to run and extend, as well as on how to interpret the output of ASPECT can also be found in the ASPECT manual. This manual also discusses the structure of the source code.

For getting started, you can also watch recordings from our tutorials.

ASPECT is a community project that lives by the participation of its members — i.e., including you! It is our goal to build an inclusive and participatory community so we are happy that you are interested in participating! We have collected a set of guidelines and advice on how to get involved in the community and keep them in the CONTRIBUTING.md file in ASPECT's repository.

For more information see:

• The official website at https://aspect.geodynamics.org

• The current Online Documentation

• How to cite ASPECT

• For questions on the source code of ASPECT, portability, installation, new or existing features, etc., use the ASPECT forum. This forum is where the ASPECT users and developers all hang out.

• See the Future Plan Board for a high level overview of items in development.

• ASPECT is primarily based on the deal.II library. If you have particular questions about deal.II, contact the deal.II discussion groups.

• ASPECT is being developed by a large, collaborative, and inclusive community. It is currently maintained by the following people:

  • Wolfgang Bangerth: [email protected]
  • Juliane Dannberg: [email protected]
  • Menno Fraters: [email protected]
  • Rene Gassmoeller: [email protected]
  • Anne Glerum: [email protected]
  • Timo Heister: [email protected]
  • Bob Myhill: [email protected]
  • John Naliboff: [email protected]

• The following people have significantly contributed and furthered ASPECT's goals and are therefore Principal Developers:

  • Jacky Austermann
  • Wolfgang Bangerth
  • Juliane Dannberg
  • Menno Fraters
  • Rene Gassmoeller
  • Anne Glerum
  • Timo Heister
  • Bob Myhill
  • John Naliboff
  • Cedric Thieulot

• A complete and growing list of the many authors that have contributed over the years can be found at GitHub contributors.

• If you have specific questions about ASPECT that are not suitable for public and archived mailing lists, feel free to contact the maintainers or principal developers.

ASPECT is published under GPL v2 or newer.