ALMA, a Fortran program for computing the viscoelastic Love numbers of a spherically symmetric planet

  • Authors:
  • G. Spada

  • Affiliations:
  • Istituto di Fisica, Universití di Urbino "Carlo Bo", Via Santa Chiara n. 27, 61029 Urbino (PU), Italy

  • Venue:
  • Computers & Geosciences
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

ALMA is a Fortran 90 program for computing the tidal and the loading ''Love numbers'' of a spherically symmetric, incompressible, viscoelastic planet, using the Post-Widder Laplace inversion formula. Knowledge of the Love numbers is required in various geophysical applications, ranging from modeling of glacial-isostatic adjustment to the study of the response of the Earth to the gravitational pull exerted by external bodies. ALMA requires modest computing resources and can be employed to compute the Love numbers for very detailed radial rheological profiles and linear viscoelastic rheologies, including those characterized by a large number of simple mechanical elements, such as the generalized Maxwell rheology. A brief account of the theory, a description of the code and a few basic applications is provided.