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NCAR Has New Super Computer To Help With Forecasts

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May 11, 2008 5:34 pm US/Mountain

NCAR Has New Super Computer To Help With Forecasts

Reporting
Dave Aguilera
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ― There's a new tool to help make forecasts for severe weather better. The National Center for Atmospheric Research has unveiled their new high-defenition super computer.

Not only will the computer dramatically improve the forecasts, it will save a lot of energy and money. It's called "Bluefire."

Bluefire is one of the top 25 most powerful computers in the world, and it will triple NCAR's computing power, answering climate questions for Colorado and the rest of the world.

"Are we going to have El Niños more frequently? Or La Niña patterns?" said Warren Washington, NCAR Senior Climate Scientist. "Are we going to have droughts more frequently, or less frequently? How are they going to change in terms of severity?"

NCAR's original super computer was installed in 1977. The new Bluefire computer is one million times more powerful.

"The way to think about this is if you had to compare regular television to high-definition television, you could really see a lot more of the details," Washington said.

The high definition will also improve forecasts for severe storms and even hurricanes. But that is not the only thing super about the computer. Bluefire is also, super "green."

"Water is much more sufficient at dissipating heat to the tune of 33 percent more efficient," said Aaron Anderson, NCAR Computer Facilities Manager.

Cooling computers with water is not new technology, but it does save more energy that using fans. With the water-cooled computer, NCAR estimates it will save about $10,000 a month in powering its computers.

NCAR scientists say the computer has as much power as 2,300 laptops linked together.

Colorado ski resorts and farmers will also benefit from better long-term rain and snow forecasts.

(© MMX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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