CDI-Type I: GPU-Accelerated Interactive Supercomputing for Climate Studies in the Northern Environment

该项目利用现代gpu加速技术设计了一种新的视觉交互超级计算技术，用于人类在循环中对地球冰川后进化的调查。通过数值模拟研究了末次盛冰期以来美国地表的变化。地球与气候之间复杂的耦合关系给科学研究带来了巨大且日益严重的障碍。这个复杂的系统包含许多非线性物理模型。对数值模型的所有参数和算法进行详尽的检查对于这样复杂的系统在计算上是禁止的。研究人员的目标是通过设计一个新的交互式框架来解决这一挑战，该框架利用现代图形处理单元（gpu），使科学家能够基于中间仿真结果的高分辨率可视化反馈，在运行时可视化地驱动仿真过程。一个多学科团队将应用gpu加速能力来探索大范围时空尺度下地球表面演变的耦合冰盖-粘弹性系统。新的交互式计算框架允许用户实时可视化和监控正在进行的模拟，还可以在运行时更改计算模型、参数和算法，而无需从头开始重新启动模拟。它是科学家更好地了解复杂气候和地球系统的关键工具。该软件将公开提供给地球科学界。此外，通过集成常用的软件工具，如MATLAB和COMSOL，并通过创建面向视觉的计算过程，我们将使高性能计算机模拟提供给全新的受众。我们将通过两个nsf资助的项目，推广K-12和本科生，由该项目的pi领导，以促进计算思维和基于探究的学习。

This project exploits modern GPU-acceleration techniques to design a new visually interactive supercomputing technique for human-in-the-loop investigation of the postglacial evolution of the Earth?s surface since the Last Glacial Maximum via numerical modeling. The complex coupling between Earth and climate has imposed a large and growing impediment to scientific investigation. This complex system embraces many non-linear physical models. An exhaustive examination of all parameters and algorithms of numerical models is computationally prohibitive for such complex systems. Investigators aim to solve this challenge by designing a new interactive framework that exploits modern Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to enable scientists to visually drive the simulation process at run time based on the feedback of high-resolution visualization of intermediate simulation results. A multi-disciplinary team will apply the GPU-accelerated capability to explore the coupled ice sheet-viscoelastic system that underlies Earth surface evolution over a large range of temporal and spatial scales.The new interactive computation framework allows the user to visualize and monitor an ongoing simulation in real-time, and also to change computing models, parameters, and algorithms at runtime without restarting the simulation from the beginning. It is a critical tool for scientists to better understand complex climate and Earth systems. The software will be made publicly available to the geosciences community. Furthermore, by integrating commonly used software tools such as MATLAB and COMSOL and by creating visually oriented computational processes, we will make high performance computer simulation available to an entirely new audience. We will outreach to K-12 and undergraduates via two NSF-funded projects, led by the PIs of this project, to promote computational thinking and inquiry-based learning.