NCAR Wyoming Supercomputing Center

The NCAR - Wyoming Supercomputing Center is a world class center for high performance scientific computing in the atmospheric and related sciences. Consistent with its mission, the facility is a leader in energy efficiency, incorporating the newest and most efficient designs and technologies available. The center provides new space to enable the advancement of scientific knowledge, education, and service through high-performance computing.

The scientific mission of the NWSC is to help scientists better understand our planet, and how human activities are affecting it. This mission inspires the guiding principle at the heart of the center’s design: to maximize the benefits of this facility to society, while minimizing its environmental impact.

That principle meant creating a facility that would use energy and water resources efficiently, be adaptable to new technologies, make use of sustainable and recycled materials and reduce or eliminate waste both during construction and during operations.

Research done at NCAR

The research conducted on Yellowstone will lead to improved understanding of many processes, including:

• Tornadoes and other dangerous weather events
• Geomagnetic storms that affect communications systems and power grids
• Water issues, from future snowpack and water availability to drought and flood behavior
• Earthquakes and tsunamis
• Sources and global dispersal patterns of air pollution
• Subsurface water and energy resources
• Potential subsurface reservoirs for carbon sequestration
• Wildfire dynamics
• Effects of wind extremes on wind turbines and of clouds on solar cells