Posted on 01/11/2016 1:33:56 PM PST by Citizen Zed
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- One of the most powerful computers in the world dedicated to climate change, weather and other earth science research will be replaced in 2017 by an even faster machine, officials announced Monday.
The Yellowstone supercomputer in Wyoming currently ranks among the 60 fastest in the world. The new supercomputer, to be named Cheyenne, will be at least 2 1/2 times more powerful, the National Center for Atmospheric Research said.
Capable of 5.3 quadrillion calculations, or petaflops, per second, Cheyenne will be some 100,000 times faster than a typical home computer. The speed provides unprecedented detail in climate-change predictions, including regional modeling of effects, the centre said.
A more powerful computer will allow researchers to see results in higher resolution, like a higher density of pixels sharpens images on a television or a stronger telescope brings a greater number of far-off galaxies into focus, explained Rich Loft, the centre's director of technology.
Scientists since 2012 have been using the Yellowstone supercomputer near Cheyenne for a range of research that also includes modeling air pollution and ocean currents.
The atmospheric research centre plans to install Cheyenne later this year and put it to work early next year. Questions it might help answer include:
-- Is the California drought a fluke or due to global climate change?
-- Can scientists predict the intensity of solar flares -- streams of radiation released by the sun that can endanger satellites and astronauts -- during an upcoming solar cycle?
-- How might climate change increase the likelihood of drought and change the extent of arctic sea ice from decade to decade?
The Yellowstone computer, located in a business park west of Cheyenne, put Wyoming's capital on the map as a potential technology hub. Facilities including a huge Microsoft data centre have set up nearby since the centre opened.
The Cheyenne supercomputer will be about three times as efficient as Yellowstone, using 90 per cent as much electricity but taking up to a third as much space. The machine will be built by Milpitas, California-based Silicon Graphics International Corp.
The University Corp. for Atmospheric Research, a consortium of more than 100 North American universities and colleges, oversees the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Both organizations are based in Boulder, Colorado.
The Yellowstone supercomputer in Wyoming currently ranks among the 60 fastest in the world. The new supercomputer, to be named Cheyenne, will be at least 2 1/2 times more powerful ...
Amazing what the mind of a liberal can conceive! A shinny new very expensive computer bought on the public dime able to reach the same erroneous conclusions twice as fast. I'm very impressed!
GIGO.
Garbage In, Garbage Out.
One of the oldest principles of computing.
That computational monster probably sucks enough power by itself to contribute to global warming.
you must be hitch hiking..
They can omit and forge data, and publish bogus forecasts 100,000 times faster than on their regular desktop computers.
So it can crank out the crap 100,000 times faster than your ordinary garbage disposal.
“A computer whose merest operational parameters I am not worthy to calculate—and yet I will design it for you. A computer which can calculate the Question to the Ultimate Answer, a computer of such infinite and subtle complexity that organic life itself shall form part of its operational matrix. And you yourselves shall take on new forms and go down into the computer to navigate its ten-million-year program! Yes! I shall design this computer for you. And I shall name it also unto you. And it shall be called... the Earth.”
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Yeah, you know, I find it very interesting to compare weather modeling with climate modeling, because weather modeling really is amazing. We had a February blizzard several years ago that was predicted about 4 days in advance, before the storm even existed! It was predicted to form over Texas somewhere, swing up the Mississippi valley, and land right on Chicago, which it did. 2 feet of snow.
It seems to me that climate is average weather, but I don’t think you can scientifically model average conditions. I’ve wondered what happens if you just run a weather model for weeks or months. Does it flatten out, or will it keep going with some sort of reasonable looking weather, which is simply increasingly inaccurate? I suspect the former, but I don’t know if this question has been pursued.
I would note, though, that on general considerations we might readily conclude that the extension of weather modeling accuracy is logarithmic in the detail and precision of the compuation. That is, maybe it has to be 100 times as precise to get an extra day, so that getting a month of predictions is not even on the horizon.
I suppose there’s an answer to this, but I think it’s a thought provoking contrast.
X = 5252
But, will it run Windoze XP?
Hmmmmm?
That’s a lot of computer to dedicate to lying and hoaxes.
I’ve got my towel right here.
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