SUBSCRIBE
5 Ways Supercomputers Help Advance Science

Supercomputers are helping scientists simulate scientific processes, make predictions and create data-based solutions, tackling the biggest scientific questions one calculation at a time.

SHARE

Simulating the seas

Climate change affects the oceans as much as it affects the atmosphere. The marine environment is already registering the effects of the 0.7 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures the world has experienced since pre-industrial times. Key changes include the reduction of plankton (microorganisms that form the basis of marine food chains), coral bleaching and damage to marine ecosystems, among others.

Supercomputers could help scientists better understand the impact of these changes on the oceans. China, for example, is building an exascale supercomputer—potentially the world’s first—to support ocean research. The new machine is expected to run ten times faster than the 93-petaFLOPS Sunway TaihuLight, and will most likely be based on the coast of Shandong province.

With an expected completion date as early as 2020, the supercomputer will process data on the world’s oceans, collected from Chinese vessels, naval outposts and unmanned monitoring facilities—including a global network of buoys, sea floor sensors, underwater gliders and satellites. These data contain a wealth of information, including levels of trace chemicals, sea current readings, regional weather data and water density anomalies.

The comprehensive analysis of such vast amounts of data will allow researchers to simulate the oceans with unprecedented resolution, and hence make more reliable forecasts of important climate-related phenomena such as El Niño. Ultimately, this information will help scientists and policy makers make better-informed decisions on vital issues such as cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

  • « Previous
  • Next »

    • #Astronomy #Climate Change #Drug Discovery #Earthquakes #Exascale Computing #Infectious Disease #Marine Science #Neuroscience #Research and Development #Supercomputing #Supercomputing Asia

    Brenda Lau

    Brenda obtained her MSc in Science Communications from the University of Sheffield, where she studied the possibility of gender bias in written forms of science communication. She is on a lifelong journey to bridge the communications gap between scientists and the public, and hopes to do this as a science and technology writer at Asian Scientist Magazine.

    Related Stories from Asian Scientist

    • Asian Scientist Magazine’s 2021 Roundup
      Top News
      Asian Scientist Magazine’s 2021 Roundup Here are 10 of Asian Scientist Magazine’s top stories in 2021, highlighting scientific advances in diverse domains from COVID-19 to climate change.
    • Mapping The Brain’s Mysteries
      Print
      Mapping The Brain’s Mysteries Scientists across Asia are harnessing the power of synchrotrons and supercomputers to get a comprehensive understanding of the brain.
    • The Cost Of Cooling
      Print
      The Cost Of Cooling Today’s supercomputers are more powerful—and hotter—than ever. Continued progress towards exascale computing requires innovative cooling techniques.
    • The Race To Exascale
      Print
      The Race To Exascale Professor Lu Yutong shares how China’s past experiences have shaped the country’s supercomputing efforts, and calls for more collaboration among Asian countries.
    • The View From The TOP500
      Print
      The View From The TOP500 The TOP500 list may have begun almost as an accident, but it has nonetheless come to shape the way we think about supercomputers. Supercomputing Asia catches up with the co-originator of […]
    • Supercomputers Take To The Sea
      Print
      Supercomputers Take To The Sea The advent of powerful supercomputers represents a sea change for computational fluid dynamics, a field which is helping scientists and engineers demystify the inner workings of the ocean.