3D free‐boundary conditions for coordinate‐transform finite‐difference seismic modelling

New alternative formulations of exact boundary conditions for arbitrary three-dimensional (3D) free-surface topographies on seismic media have been derived. They are shown to be equivalent to previously published formulations, thereby verifying the validity of each set of formulations. The top of a curved grid represents the free-surface topography while the interior of the grid represents the physical medium. We assume the velocity–stress version of the viscoelastic wave equations to be valid in this grid before transforming the equations to a rectangular grid. In order to perform the numerical discretization we apply the latter version of the equations for seismic wave propagation simulation in the medium. The numerical discretization of the free-surface topography boundary conditions by second-order finite differences (FDs) is shown, as well as the spatially unconditional stability of the resulting system of equations. The FD order is increased by two for each point away from the free surface up to eight, which is the order used in the interior. We use staggered grids in both space and time and the second-order leap-frog and Crank– Nicholson methods for wavefield time propagation. An application using parameters typical of teleseismic earthquakes and explosions is presented using a 200 × 100 km² area of real topography from southwestern Norway over a homogeneous medium. A dipping plane wave simulates a teleseismic P-wave incident on the surface topography. Results show conversion from P- to Rg- (short period fundamental mode Rayleigh) waves in the steepest and/or roughest topography, as well as attenuated waves in valleys and fjords. The codes are parallelized for simulation on fast supercomputers and PC-clusters to model high frequencies and/or large areas.