sawyl | Bigger, better supercomputers?

A positive, if unsurprising, recommendation from the Science and Technology Committee that the Met Office increase its supercomputing capacity over the next 10 years.

Last year, the committee heard from the Royal Meteorological Society that more supercomputers were needed to carry out complex calculations and the potential economic benefits of more accurate forecasts were "enormous" in terms of improved contingency planning for emergencies.

ETA: A few salient quotes from the report's conclusions:

Similarly, collaboration with the wider UK meteorology community should be encouraged to stimulate the development of Met Office models. We note that the MONSooN project has been held up as a particularly good example, providing a joint supercomputing system that allows scientists to collaborate on research into modelling issues. We encourage the expansion of MONSooN and recommend that NERC work closely with the Met Office to develop plans for the next phase that are suitable for the research community's needs.

It is of great concern to us that scientific advances in weather forecasting and the associated public benefits (particular in regard to severe weather warnings) are ready and waiting but are being held back by insufficient supercomputing capacity. We echo the recent conclusions of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and others, that a step-change in supercomputing capacity is required.

Sounds very positive. Let's hope it comes off.