National Center for Computational Sciences

As viewers tune into Todd Howell for a look at weather through the next week, Oak Ridge National Library scientist Auroop Ganguly is looking for a more forward-looking forecast. Ganguly is looking at the year 2010.
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“This is one of those unique areas where the science is very challenging,” Ganguly says. “It’s immensely challenging. There’s a lot to be done but there’s a lot of direct impacts to society which makes it very interesting to us.”

Ganguly is using data from 1940 to the present to predict the climate extremes of the future. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s super computer crunches the numbers.

Calculations that would otherwise take 4 months are done in a weekend.

“I don’t think tomorrow we will solve the world’s problems but even if I can do some small incremental thing here, I think it has tremendous impact on everyday life in society,” Ganguly says.

Researchers can view their work on what they’ve dubbed a “powerwall.” It’s a huge screen with 35 million pixels for crystal clear viewing.

By looking at population and environmental changes, scientists hope to forecast where a weather event will likely hit long before it happens. The goal is for people to be better prepared.

“Somebody said the earlier we start acting the less effort and sacrifices we’ll have to make on society,” Ganguly says. Researchers hope their work will help determine where stronger structures need to be built because of climate and weather changes.

In the next few years, it could even help develop new policies and strategies.