What is DES3D?

DES3D or DynEarthSol3D (Dynamic Earth Solver in 3D) is a finite element code that solves the momentum balance and the heat transfer for elasto-visco-plastic materials in the Lagrangian form using unstructured meshes. It can be used for studying long-term deformations of the Earth's lithosphere but certainly not limited to it.

How to cite

Choi, E., Tan, E., Lavier, L. L., & Calo, V. M. (2013). DynEarthSol2D: An efficient unstructured finite element method to study long-term tectonic deformation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 118(5), 2429–2444. DOI:10.1002/jgrb.50148

Shyu, C. J., Lee, S., Ding, X., Keum, J., Tan, E., Lavier, L. L., & Choi, E. (2026). DynEarthSol v2.0: An efficient explicit Lagrangian solver for geodynamics, surface processes, and earthquake-cycle dynamics. EGUsphere [preprint, in review for Solid Earth]. DOI:10.5194/egusphere-2026-2922