Use Your PC to Assist with Climate Experiment

[Mike Peregrine]

Using a method similar to the SETI project, the BBC is working with climatologists to use individual PCs to help in modeling climate change these days. A small program can be downloaded to your PC to run calculations in the background when you are not using it, which then combines with all of the other PCs in the world to function as a sort of 'supercomputer.' From the BBC site:

Trying to predict climate change is hard. There are lots of factors involved – air temperature, sea temperature and cloud cover all play a part – as do dozens of other variables. Therefore, there are a huge number of calculations involved.

One solution is for scientists to use the largest supercomputer they can find. But even the biggest supercomputers are only so good.

We think you can do better.

Using a technique known as distributed computing, we’re hoping to harness the power of thousands of PCs around the world. If 10,000 people sign up, we’ll be faster than the world’s biggest computer. And we’re hoping to be even better than that.

You can visit the site and find out if you'd be interested in participating here.

 

[John Gnuechtel]

Distributed computing for weather geeks? Awesome.