Jacqueline Biggs — May 26, 2006 — Eco
References: bbc
Donate your computer's spare number-crunching power and contribute to the world's most ambitious climate modelling experiment.
Climate scientists, led by Oxford University have developed an experiment for the BBC using the Met Office climate model. And they need thousands of people to help!
Using a technique known as distributed computing, they're hoping to harness the power of thousands of PCs around the world. If 10,000 people sign up, they'll be faster than the world's biggest computer. And they're hoping to be even better than that.
How do you take part?
Taking part is easy. You download a simple programme, which doubles as a screensaver and once installed your computer will take care of the rest. You don't have to send anything. You don't have to enter any data. In fact – if you decide not to set the programme as your screensaver, you probably won't even notice it's there.
However, if you want to, you can follow the progress of your experiment on a 3D spinning globe.
How does it work?
The experiment works by making use of your spare processing power. All you have to do is use your computer exactly as you normally would, and the programme will run calculations in the background. When it's done, it will send results back to scientists in Oxford, who will combine everyone's results. The more people who take part, the more complete their predictions about the future climate will be.
Climate scientists, led by Oxford University have developed an experiment for the BBC using the Met Office climate model. And they need thousands of people to help!
Using a technique known as distributed computing, they're hoping to harness the power of thousands of PCs around the world. If 10,000 people sign up, they'll be faster than the world's biggest computer. And they're hoping to be even better than that.
How do you take part?
Taking part is easy. You download a simple programme, which doubles as a screensaver and once installed your computer will take care of the rest. You don't have to send anything. You don't have to enter any data. In fact – if you decide not to set the programme as your screensaver, you probably won't even notice it's there.
However, if you want to, you can follow the progress of your experiment on a 3D spinning globe.
How does it work?
The experiment works by making use of your spare processing power. All you have to do is use your computer exactly as you normally would, and the programme will run calculations in the background. When it's done, it will send results back to scientists in Oxford, who will combine everyone's results. The more people who take part, the more complete their predictions about the future climate will be.
Trend Themes
1. Distributed Computing - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore distributed computing to harness the power of thousands of computers for large-scale climate modeling experiments.
2. Crowdsourcing - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Utilize crowdsourcing to engage thousands of people in climate change experiments through the use of their personal computers.
3. Data Visualization - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop 3D spinning globe visualizations to allow participants to track and engage with the progress of their climate modeling experiments.
Industry Implications
1. Climate Science - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrate distributed computing and crowdsourcing methods into climate science research and modeling.
2. Technology - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Innovate distributed computing platforms and data visualization tools to support large-scale climate change experiments.
3. Environmental Conservation - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Leverage the power of distributed computing and crowdsourcing to enhance predictions and projections for future climate change, contributing to better environmental conservation strategies.
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