MRI: Acquisition of a 40-core Linux cluster for oceanographic research at Earth & Space Research

提供资金购买基于Linux的多处理器集群(MPC)，以提高ESR(地球和空间研究)的能力，为各种海洋研究应用进行高度处理器密集型计算。ESR科学家目前使用联网的单处理器PC进行研究。这些设施已经远远落后于他们的研究兴趣的需求。进入MPC将大大增强现有的计划，并将开辟目前ESR无法进入的研究领域。建议的MPC是一个40核(20个双核AMD皓龙处理器)系统，每个节点有4个处理器。系统规模由预算和基础设施(电力和空调)需求决定。MPC将由ESR拥有和运营，将向ESR科学家提供，并在负荷水平允许的情况下，提供给其他机构的项目合作者。拟议的系统将大大加强ESR科学家对热门研究的贡献，包括：潮汐对极地海洋混合和海冰性质的影响，以及南极冰架底部的冰/海相互作用；分析上层洋流的准全球和高分辨率分布以及在每日时间尺度上的混合，以及对表层洋流的短期预报；反气旋涡旋在改变对流通风中的作用。MPC将通过允许扩展的模型运行来更好地表示在其现有的单CPU计算机上需要极长运行时间的过程，从而帮助这些研究。在计算方面要求很高的任务包括：模拟陡峭地形地区的内潮和密度流出(精细网格间距至关重要)；将潮汐与风力和温盐流动的季节性和更长时间变化相耦合(需要更长的积分时间)；明确表示海洋中的海冰和冰架/海洋耦合模型(与只使用海洋的模型相比，中央处理器所需资源增加2-3倍)；增加高纬度和准全球上层海洋研究的湍流闭合模型的复杂性。

Funds are provided to purchase a Multi-Processor, Linux-based Cluster ("MPC") to improve ESR's (Earth and Space Research) capacity to carry out highly processor-intensive computations for a variety of oceanographic research applications. ESR scientists presently conduct their research using networked, single-processor PCs. These facilities have fallen well behind the demands of their research interests. Access to the MPC would significantly enhance existing programs, and would open up research areas that are presently inaccessible to ESR. The proposed MPC is a 40-core (20 dual-core AMD Opteron processors) system arranged in 4 processors per node. The system scale is set by both budget and infrastructure (power and air conditioning) requirements. The MPC would be owned and operated by ESR and would be available to ESR scientists and, as load levels permit, to project collaborators at other institutions. The proposed system would significantly enhance the contribution of ESR scientists to studies of topical interest including: . tidal influence on ocean mixing and sea-ice properties in polar seas, and ice/ocean interactions at the base of Antarctic ice shelves; . analysis of the quasi-global and high-resolution distribution of upper ocean currents and mixing on daily timescales, and short-range forecast of the surface currents; and . the role of anticyclonic eddies in modifying convective ventilation. The MPC would assist in these studies by allowing expanded model runs to better represent processes that require extremely long run times on their existing single-CPU computers. Computationally demanding tasks include: modeling internal tides and density outflows in regions of steep topography (where fine grid spacing is essential); coupling tides to seasonal and longer changes in wind-forced and thermohaline flows (requiring longer integration times); explicitly representing sea ice in ocean and coupled ice-shelf/ocean models (a factor of 2-3 increase in CPU needs relative to ocean-only models); and increasing the sophistication of turbulence closure models for both high latitude and quasi-global upper-ocean studies.