Simulations and the World Community Grid

Okay, I'm walking on thin ice here. Recall the last time I mentioned something about the weather and climate analysis, I was pummeled by readers who questioned the validity of global warming and such. Which is why I leave the topic to experts, like Josh Reed whose article in the upcoming October 2007 issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal describes an Eclipse- and Java-based tool for the Antarctic Geological Drilling project.

But climate analysis is going on worldwide, not just in Antarctica. For instance, the Climate Systems Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town is launching a global computing effort to improve regional climate models to make better projections about what effects of changing climates in Africa.

The AfricanClimate@Home project will use the computational power of the World Community Grid, a virtual supercomputer comprised of hundreds of thousands of individuals who donate unused computer time. Researchers will use the World Community Grid to improve the models used to predict the climate by conducting simulations in small regions of Africa, then checking them against real observations.

According to AfricanClimate@Home lead researcher Mark Tadross, "Making predictions about the climate requires an enormous amount of computational power because of all of the variables, such as temperature, wind, pressure, and humidity. In order to improve the models, we need to come up with better algorithms that will more closely match what is observed in a local area. By using World Community Grid, we have the computational power necessary to run the tests we need to improve our models."

To donate unused computer time to this project, register at World Community Grid and install a free program on to your computer. When computers are idle, they can request data from World Community Grid's server. The World Community Grid is the largest public humanitarian grid in existence with 315,000-plus members and links more than 700,000 computers.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 11:01 AM  Permalink