Cal-(IT)2, IBM, SDSC, and Scripps Institution unveil powerful computing resources for ocean researchSan Diego 14 December 2001 The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, will dedicate one of the world's fastest supercomputers devoted entirely to ocean modelling. Partnering with the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Cal-(IT)2), the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and IBM, Scripps obtained two PC "clusters" with a peak performance of 500 billion calculations per second.
Each 128-node cluster has 256 CPUs, and both have been installed at Scripps' Center for Observations, Modelling and Prediction (COMPAS). "The long-term success of our efforts at Scripps to model ocean and atmospheric conditions depends on having the requisite computing resources", stated Detlef Stammer, COMPAS director and associate professor in the Physical Oceanography Research Division of Scripps at UCSD. "The clusters will also let us grapple with new issues that require intense computation, issues such as carbon dioxide sequestering in the atmosphere and the ocean, and the effects of biology on the physical state of the ocean."
The hardware was installed by IBM as part of its long-term commitment as a founding industrial partner of Cal-(IT)2. COMPAS is a concerted and inter-disciplinary effort in data analysis, numerical modelling and data assimilation for ocean research at Scripps. Research areas that will benefit from the new clusters include: SDSC has played a key role in getting the hardware up and running. "Phil Papadopoulos and his team at the supercomputer centre did most of the design work on the clusters", stated COMPAS director Stammer. "We are also counting on SDSC to provide ongoing system support for the system."
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