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Decoding Atmospheric Effects of Gravity Waves

Researchers at Stanford University, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, or ECMWF, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory used the lab’s Summit supercomputer to better understand atmospheric gravity waves, which influence significant weather patterns that are difficult to forecast. First, the team conducted ultrahigh-resolution climate simulations using the ECMWF Integrated Forecast…
Jeremy RumseyJeremy RumseyDecember 23, 20242 min

Frontier Users’ Exascale Climate Emulator Nominated for Gordon Bell Climate Prize

A multi-institutional team of researchers led by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or KAUST, Saudi Arabia, has been nominated for the Association for Computing Machinery’s 2024 Gordon Bell Prize for Climate Modelling. The team developed an exascale climate emulator with radically enhanced resolution but without the computational…
Jeremy RumseyJeremy RumseyOctober 30, 20247 min
Exascale new frontier OLCF Banner

Exascale’s New Frontier: ExaWind

PI: Michael Sprague, National Renewable Energy Laboratory In 2016, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Exascale Computing Project (ECP) set out to prepare advanced software for the arrival of exascale-class supercomputers capable of 1 quintillion or more calculations per second. That meant rethinking, reinventing and optimizing dozens of scientific applications and…
Jeremy RumseyJeremy RumseyJuly 29, 20246 min
CyberShake

CyberShake Study Uses Summit Supercomputer to Investigate Earthquake Hazards

Researchers at the Statewide California Earthquake Center, or SCEC, are unraveling the mysteries of earthquakes by using physics-based computational models running on high-performance computing systems at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The team’s findings will provide a better understanding of seismic hazards in the Golden State. Building…
Quinn BurkhartQuinn BurkhartFebruary 5, 20245 min
Exascale new frontier OLCF Banner

Exascale’s New Frontier: E3SM-MMF

PI: Mark Taylor, Sandia National Laboratories In 2016, the Department of Energy’s Exascale Computing Project (ECP) set out to develop advanced software for the arrival of exascale-class supercomputers capable of a quintillion (1018) or more calculations per second. That meant rethinking, reinventing, and optimizing dozens of scientific applications and software…
Matt LakinMatt LakinJanuary 19, 20245 min

Custom Software Speeds Up, Stabilizes High-Profile Ocean Model

On the beach, ocean waves provide soothing white noise. But in scientific laboratories, they play a key role in weather forecasting and climate research. Along with the atmosphere, the ocean is typically one of the largest and most computationally demanding components of Earth system models like the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale…
Elizabeth RosenthalElizabeth RosenthalDecember 18, 20235 min

Pulling Clouds into Focus

The world’s first exascale supercomputer will help scientists peer into the future of global climate change and open a window into weather patterns that could affect the world a generation from now. The research team used Frontier, the 1.14-exaflop HPE Cray EX supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge…
Matt LakinMatt LakinNovember 14, 20236 min

New Study Reveals the Influence of Natural Climate Drivers on Extreme Monsoons in Pakistan

A new study by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory looks at some of the influences that could be driving the increasingly severe weather over Pakistan. Published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, the study analyzed over 40 years of data and found that natural climate…
Betsy SonewaldBetsy SonewaldOctober 13, 20236 min
Illustration of map labeled with climate and weather variables

Air Force Weather-Funded Research Aims to Improve Predictability of Extreme Weather

As extreme weather devastates communities worldwide, scientists are using modeling and simulation to understand how climate change impacts the frequency and intensity of these events. Although long-term climate projections and models are important, they are less helpful for short-term prediction of extreme weather that may rapidly displace thousands of people…
Betsy SonewaldBetsy SonewaldJuly 11, 20234 min

Summit Study Fathoms Troubled Waters of Ocean Turbulence

Simulations performed on the Summit supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory revealed new insights into the role of turbulence in mixing fluids and could open new possibilities for projecting climate change and studying fluid dynamics. The study, published in the Journal of Turbulence, used Summit to…
Matt LakinMatt LakinJune 13, 20236 min

The Most Advanced Bay Area Earthquake Simulations Will be Publicly Available

By Aliyah Kovner, Berkeley Lab Accurately modeling the effects of an earthquake is possible, but it requires intricate physics-based models that can only be run on advanced supercomputers. The data from such models are invaluable for the earthquake research community and engineers seeking to build and retrofit earthquake-resilient homes, businesses,…
OLCF Staff WriterOLCF Staff WriterFebruary 8, 20235 min

The Climate in a Container

Successfully running a simulation program on a supercomputer requires more than just writing code. An application such as a climate model requires libraries, network support, and the correct operating environment. Because of these complex and multilayered requirements, applications are typically customized and built natively on a computing system, making them…
Betsy SonewaldBetsy SonewaldDecember 5, 20226 min
Visualization of an aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 particle with various components inside and outside the particle.

2021 at the OLCF: Year in Review

In 2021, supercomputing at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) enabled new scientific breakthroughs amid the global pandemic. From modeling small particles called quarks to simulating turbulence in fusion reactors, the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility's (OLCF's) flagship supercomputer, Summit, continued to provide unprecedented opportunities…
Rachel McDowellRachel McDowellDecember 30, 202113 min
Fawbush and Miller US Air Force Supercomputers at ORNL

US Air Force, ORNL Launch Next-Generation Global Weather Forecasting System

The US Air Force and the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) launched a new high-performance weather forecasting computer system that will provide a platform for some of the most advanced weather modeling in the world. Procured and managed by ORNL’s National Center for Computational Sciences, the…
Coury TurczynCoury TurczynFebruary 10, 20217 min

A New Approach for Bigger and Better Earthquake Modeling

This story was originally written by Aaron Dubrow at the Texas Advanced Computer Center and adapted by Rachel McDowell for the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdGctQsjKpU A randomly selected 3,000-year segment of the physics-based simulated catalog of earthquakes in California, created on the Texas Advanced Computing Center's Frontera supercomputer. Video Credit:…
Rachel McDowellRachel McDowellJanuary 29, 20215 min