Using Petascale Computing Capabilities to Address Climate Change Uncertainties

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award facilitates scientific research using the large, new, computational resource named Blue Waters being developed by IBM and scheduled to be deployed at the University of Illinois. It provides travel funds to support technical coordination between the principal investigators, the Blue Waters project team and the vendor technical team. The project addresses on-going and crucial needs for understanding and reducing uncertainties associated with numerical modeling of climate change through characterizing and accounting for current model limitations in order to reduce uncertainty associated with projected trends in our climate. The simulations and analyses are designed to use the Blue Waters petascale computing resources. The two major objectives of the project will address long recognized issues associated with understanding climate sensitivity and with model resolution. The unique super-ensemble approach used in the climate sensitivity studies and the advanced dynamical model cores used in the high resolution studies both require petascale capabilities. This project will use state-of-the-art computational resources, namely Blue Waters, and cutting-edge modeling software in advancing the study of climate that will contribute to international (and national) assessments of the potential impacts of climate change over this century. The proposed research will be carried out collaboratively by a team of leading climate scientists who will also provide interdisciplinary training to students and postdoctoral fellows through cross-disciplinary fertilization in both thinking and ideas that will be fostered through the close interactions on this project. This will provide them with invaluable insights into both the research and educational processes. The data produced by the simulations will be made available to the larger community of research scientists.