MRI: Acquisition of PolarGrid: Cyberinfrastructure for Polar Science

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Proposal #: CNS 07-23054PI(s): Fox, Geoffrey C. Hayden, Linda B.; LeCompte, Malcolm; Pierce, Marlon E.; Stewart, Craig A.Institution: Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47402-1847Title: MRI/Acq.: Acquisition of Polar Grid: Cyberinfrastructure for Polar Science Project Proposed:This project, acquiring a sophisticated instrument that addresses crucial ice-sheet science, enables a new generation of high resolution ice-sheet models with realistic boundary conditions that requires distributed PolarGrid Cyberinfrastructure to gather and process data and assimilate these with large simulations. PolarGrid consist of an intermittently disconnected field and base grids feeding information to "lower 48" data and computing resources. True real-time processing at the field camp is backed up with increasing fidelity, but increasing delay at the base and "lower 48" systems. The requested system includes an expedition grid consisting of ruggedized laptops in a field grid to a low power multi-core based camp cluster. A prototype and two production grids feed into a Teraflops system at Indiana and Elizabeth City State Universities. PolarGrid will be integrated with TeraGrid for both resource utilization and curricula sharing. Modern open data access standards will be followed so that raw processes, and simulated data can be archived outside PolarGrid by and for the science and engineering community. The innovative architecture of PolarGrid with intermittently disconnected components also has applications to other power- and bandwidth-challenged applications. The instrument responds to the recent polar satellite observations that show disintegration of ice shelves in Antarctica and the speed-up of several glaciers in Greenland.Broader Impact: The infrastructure addresses an important current problem that touches all beings in one way or another, the key issue of polar ice disintegration. Strong educational activities are involved, mainly through the training of students. ECSU, a historically black university, involves undergraduate students through new curricula and research experiences.