  Simulation of wave propagation in a microearthquake environment is often
challenging due to small-scale structural and material heterogeneities. We
simulate wave propagation in three different real microearthquake environments
using a spectral-element method. In the first example, we compute the full
wavefield in 2D and 3D models of an underground ore mine, namely the Pyhaesalmi
mine in Finland. In the second example, we simulate wave propagation in a
homogeneous velocity model including the actual topography of an unstable rock
slope at Aaknes in western Norway. Finally, we compute the full wavefield for a
weakly anisotropic cylindrical sample at laboratory scale, which was used for
an acoustic emission experiment under triaxial loading. We investigate the
characteristic features of wave propagation in those models and compare
synthetic waveforms with observed waveforms wherever possible. We illustrate
the challenges associated with the spectral-element simulation in those models.
