High performance data mangement infrastructure for earth system studies at the GEOTOP-UQAM-mcgill research centre

在预测地球在内部和外部自然力压力下的未来这一重大挑战方面，可以通过开发计算工具来加快取得进展，这些工具将解决全球规模问题和培训前沿研究领域的青年科学家所需的各种地球科学学科、建模战略和数据集结合起来。我们建议建立一个计算和数据处理平台，以揭示和模拟驱动地球表面过程和地球系统演化的机制。我们请求对EDS Canada捐赠给GEOTOP-UQAM-麦吉尔研究中心的Sun E10 K计算机集群进行必要的升级，以便进行所需的数值建模和高级数据处理。拟议的数字和数据管理设施将为解决复杂的地球系统问题提供一个强有力的环境。取决于这一应用成功与否的研究项目被纳入若干国际机构的网络和方案（综合大洋钻探计划、地震学联合研究机构、国际原子能机构维也纳办事处、教科文组织-国际地质科学联合会），并涉及与若干国家机构（UofT、UVic、UBC、达尔豪西、加拿大环境部、NR-Can、DFO）和外国机构（特别是美国和欧洲联盟）的密切合作。麦吉尔大学和UQAM最近的教师招聘现在为我们提供了将新的地球物理和地球化学工具应用于重大地球系统科学问题所需的人力资源。因此，GEOTOP的地球物理建模计划的增长需要领先的计算机资源，特别是支持创新的建模，将地球化学和地球物理观测相结合，并产生行星尺度的时间序列解决方案和图形模拟。拟议的数据管理设施将支持三个重要领域的研究：壳幔相互作用、气候动力学、元素的地球化学循环。这些领域的研究将有助于应对加拿大领土辽阔、海洋边缘广阔、易受构造活动和气候变化影响所带来的挑战。

Progress in addressing the major challenges of predicting the future of our planet under the stresses of internal and external natural forces can be accelerated by the development of computational tools which integrate the wide variety of Earth science disciplines, modelling strategies and data sets needed to solve global scale problems and to train young scientists in frontier fields of research. We propose the establishment of a computational and data handling platform to unravel and to model mechanisms driving Earth surface processes and Earth System evolution. We request support for essential upgrades to a Sun E10K computer cluster donated to the GEOTOP-UQAM-McGill research centre by EDS Canada in order to perform the required numerical modeling and advanced data treatment. The proposed numerical and data management facility will provide a powerful environment for addressing complex Earth system problems. Research projects depending upon the success of this application are integrated into networks and programs of several international agencies (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Consortium, IAEA-Vienna, UNESCO-IUGS) and involve close collaboration with several national (UofT, UVic, UBC, Dalhousie, Environment Canada, NR-Can, DFO) and foreign institutions (notably in the US & the European Union). Recent faculty recruitment at McGill and UQAM now provides us with the human resources needed to apply new geophysical and geochemical tools to major Earth System science questions. Therefore, leading-edge computer resources are required for the growth of geophysical modeling initiatives at GEOTOP, in particular to support innovative modeling that integrates geochemical and geophysical observations and produces planetary-scale, time-series solutions and graphical simulations. The proposed data management facility will support research in three important fields: crust-mantle interactions, climate dynamics, biogeochemical cycling of elements. Research in these areas will help to address the challenges posed by Canada's territorial expanse and extensive oceanic margins, its vulnerability to tectonic activity and climatic change.