Input parameter files

What ASPECT computes is driven by two things:

• The models implemented in ASPECT. This includes the geometries, the material laws, or the initial conditions currently supported. Which of these models are currently implemented is discussed below; Extending and contributing to ASPECT discusses in great detail the process of implementing additional models.

• The run-time parameters of the selected model. For example, you could select a model that prescribes constant coefficients throughout the domain from all the material models currently implemented; you could then select appropriate values for all of these constants. Both of these selections happen from a parameter file that is read at run time and whose name is specified on the command line. (See also Overview.)

In this section, let us give an overview of what can be selected in the parameter file. Specific parameters, their default values, and allowed values for these parameters are documented in https://aspect.geodynamics.org/doc/parameter_view/parameters.xml.

• The structure of parameter files
• Categories of parameters
• A note on the syntax of formulas in input files
• Compatibility of input files with newer ASPECT versions