At Geosphere Austria

New supercomputer for better weather forecasts

The new "crisis computer" is equipped with more than 19,000 processor cores.

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

Geosphere Austria (formerly ZAMG) wants to improve its (extreme) weather forecasts, climate models and heat development analyses in cities with a new high-performance computer. Compared to its predecessor from 2017, the new large computer with its 19,200 computing cores achieves 1.7 times the computing power - i.e. almost 870 billion operations per second. This enables more detailed and faster weather, climate and radiation forecasts.

The new "High Performance Computer" (HPC) - also known as the "crisis computer" - on the Hohe Warte in Vienna-Döbling cost 2.5 million euros and is exclusively available to Geosphere Austria, the successor organization to the former Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) told journalists. The money comes from the Ministry of Education. This investment was necessary as Geosphere performs important tasks in the context of crisis prevention, such as model calculations on the possible spread of pollutants or radioactive materials in the air after (nuclear) accidents or forecasts on the development and course of freak weather events, such as the devastating floods in the east of the country a few weeks ago.

Austria "geographically complex"
Such events in particular demonstrate "the value of forecasts" in the "geographically complex" country of Austria, emphasized Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP). Geosphere Austria provides important support for emergency services in disaster situations and is represented in the country's crisis teams. This means that the new HPC is also part of the critical infrastructure, the operation of which must be ensured around the clock, as IT manager Ernst Mosor and his colleague Matthias Langer explained.

The new "crisis computer" is equipped with more than 19,000 processor cores.

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

Especially in the event of disasters, the cooperation with the authorities of the federal states in Austria, among others, is "very well coordinated", says Geosphere General Director Andreas Schaffhauser. A look at the current devastation in the Valencia area and the criticism of the Spanish crisis management also shows that, in the event of a disaster, all the important parties involved must be well known and the scientific findings and results "must be brought to the user". The work is therefore often divided into "80 percent communication and 20 percent meteorology", as Schaffhauser put it.

The new high-performance computer

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

Since August, the new high-performance computer has been running the latest model calculations for weather forecasts and warnings, among other things. With the new acquisition, climate and weather forecasts can not only be produced more accurately, but also around 20 to 40 percent faster. For comparison: the "old" HPC managed just over 500 billion computing operations (gigaflops) per second.

A closer look at individual Alpine valleys
The new possibilities also make it possible to estimate even more precisely how extreme weather conditions could affect individual Alpine valleys, for example. With regard to heavy rainfall events, which are becoming more likely due to climate change, however, despite all the progress, the following still applies: "We are always dealing with a chaotic system," said the Geosphere boss.

In the Geosphere Austria office

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

At the moment, forecasts for the meteorologically and geographically challenging Alpine region and its surroundings are calculated every three hours for the next 60 hours under the acronym "AROME". Under the title "AROME-RUC" - the latter stands for "Rapid Update Cycle" - hourly forecasts of developments over the next twelve hours are provided. In the event of a failure of this system, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in Reading (UK) can also take over the complex simulations within a few minutes as part of an international cooperation. In addition, more individual research projects are now to be carried out using the infrastructure.

New heat analyses possible
Experts are also using the new computer to calculate analyses on the distribution of heat in urban areas. Temperatures have been "skyrocketing" since the 1990s, says Schaffhauser. The unprecedented rise has led to a multiplication of hot days in urban areas, which can now be broken down "very finely" into individual districts and neighborhoods and forecast for the next 20 to 30 years.

To avoid contributing to the establishment of an urban heat island on the Hohe Warte, a modern cooling concept was chosen for the mainframe computer. According to Mosor and Langer, energy efficiency and "green IT" are a big issue these days. While its predecessor cost around 150,000 euros per year to operate, the new system should be around 50,000 euros cheaper to run.