The National Center for Atmospheric Research state-of-the-art supercomputer at its facility in Cheyenne, Wyo. 鈥� one that will enable scientists and data analysts to better predict climate and weather events.
The 鈥淒erecho鈥� supercomputer takes up an entire room in a warehouse and can make more than 19 quadrillion calculations every second.
Dr. Everette Joseph, Director of NCAR, said it will enhance our understanding of the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere.
鈥淭he goal of this project is to reduce uncertainty of the future climate. And it will provide information at the local level where communities are really asking for this information,鈥� he said at a ceremony to introduce the supercomputer.
鈥淒erecho鈥� is 3.5 times faster than the current unit in Cheyenne and also uses energy more efficiently than previous computers. Hundreds of universities and other research institutions have access to it.
Joseph said this increased computational power is especially important as extreme weather caused by global warming becomes more common.
鈥淚t will advance knowledge of the Earth system and help make our society more resilient to the unprecedented extreme events that we all know that we're experiencing,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust this year, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, droughts [and] solar storms.鈥�
Funding for 鈥淒erecho鈥� comes from the National Science Foundation, as well as state partners in Wyoming.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .