Upgrade of the Computational Facilities in the Geophysics Program at New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces NM

Investigators

Abstract

0207495 Hearn This award provides partial support to upgrade the computational facilities for the solid-earth geophysics program at New Mexico State University. This upgrade enables the geophysics program to stay abreast of technological advances in computing, networking, security, and archiving. Purchasing a 16-node Beowulf cluster is central to our efforts. It will provide high-speed computational power for relatively low-cost. There are two major projects, mantle dynamics and microstructural evolution of rocks, which require three-dimensional parallel simulations. Most of these simulations are currently being done at off-campus sites using the TERRA mantle convection code developed at Los Alamos and a Monte Carlo code developed at Sandia National Laboratories. They will be implemented on the Beowulf. Support will also be used to replace our current system of older Sun workstations with more modern workstations. New storage with a RAID array and large-volume tape backup are needed for today's larger data volumes. These computer systems will support data storage and analysis from field seismology projects located in China, the southwest U.S., and Mexico, and to support projects in seismic tomography and geodynamics. ***