4-page Case Study - Posted 6/7/2007
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Environmental Scientists Join Forces Against Climate Change with Integrated Platform
Grid ENabled Integrated Earth system model (Genie) is a project created by the Natural Environment Research Council in the United Kingdom. The aim of the project is to consolidate the work of scientists and researchers operating in different areas of Earth system study. The people involved in Genie use applications based on Windows® and Linux to conduct simulations. To merge the cross-platform applications for conducting these simulations requires a great deal of contributors’ time and effort. With this in mind, the Genie technical team created a virtual framework that links all applications and data, regardless of the system used to create them. The solution—based on Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Microsoft® .NET technology—is making collaboration easier, improving research productivity and increasing insight and public awareness.
Situation
Addressing climate change is one of the most important issues facing governments worldwide. Confronted with different theories and beliefs, policy makers look to science and technology to identify the causes of changes occurring to the Earth. Finding the answers to questions posed by climate change is a critical task for researchers and scientists.
In the United Kingdom, a project called Genie is accelerating understanding of the Earth system by unifying the work of climate-change specialists from different fields of expertise. This encompasses studies of the oceans, the atmosphere, sea ice, marine sediments, marine biogeochemistry, land surfaces, vegetation, and soil and ice sheets. Each contributor to the Genie project uses Earth System Modelling (ESM) to create hypotheses and simulations of the effects of human activities and natural variations in the Earth system.
However, it is difficult for the scientists at Genie to share research. Each of the contributing scientists works on applications created for different operating systems. Some use Linux and Oracle to configure and manage the data from various simulations, while others use applications created in a Windows® operating environment. Not everyone involved in the Genie project is a technical expert, so performing calculations and carrying out complex modelling scenarios can be time-consuming and frustrating.
The goal of the Genie project is to create a shared platform on which all scientists, researchers, and technologists can easily access the data and insight created by different institutions. Researchers can then apply this data to their own field of enquiry, creating fuller Earth system scenarios. Using the results of comprehensive modelling, scientists can deliver more accurate predictions on future environmental change.
Solution
Simon Cox is Professor of Computational Methods at the University of Southampton and Technical Director for Genie. He led a team of experts from the universities of Southampton and East Anglia to create a proof of concept for a high-performance framework linking HPC modelling systems—based on Windows® and Linux—from all universities contributing to the Genie project. The framework is based on Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and uses Microsoft® .NET technology, Windows Workflow Foundation, and Windows Presentation Foundation. The solution also includes a Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 database to manage data.
Windows Workflow Foundation is used to create a reliable, secure environment for the rapid composition of ESM simulations and retrieval of data from both Windows and Linux application models. Windows Presentation Foundation is used to create an easy-to-navigate Web interface from which to find and retrieve data.
A SQL Server 2005 database provides a centralised repository for managing the data from disparate hosting environments. Meta-data from simulations created by the network is captured in the SQL Server database. Cox says: “Regardless of the environment the data was created on—for example, Windows or Linux—precise simulations can be found easily and repeated or varied by any of the researchers.”
Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 supports rapid configuration of new simulations with monitoring tools and policy-based scheduling. If any server fails during a simulation, the information is moved onto another server. This prevents the need for repetition and reduces the risk of simulation error.
Benefits
The Genie technical team created a simplified and accessible framework for scientists and researchers across the United Kingdom Environmental Sciences Network. Now, all parties can share data quickly and easily, gain new insight into the Earth system and climate change, and support greater public knowledge and awareness.
Researchers Share Work with Ease on Integrated Framework
Contributors to the Genie project can take advantage of the expertise existing across the Environmental Sciences Network and apply it to their own simulations. This collaboration is helping scientists to create simulations that take into account a diverse range of variables.
Cox says: “With the integrated framework based on .NET, it is much easier to create ‘what if’ experiments that incorporate different Earth system components.” For example, an ocean simulation expert at the University of Southampton can create a simulation of oceanic currents, building in the details of a simulation for wind patterns retrieved from a colleague at the University of East Anglia.
Scientists Collaborate, Producing Faster Insight
Scientists are creating more and more simulations using variables from other areas of Earth system study, and this is helping them reach a more detailed understanding of the patterns that influence changes in the Earth system.
Cox says: “A few years ago, scientists wouldn’t have dared to calculate some of the findings that are revealed by the integrated Windows platform. Now, not only can we ask these questions, but we have the tools, technology, and integration to answer them.”
Researchers Work More Effectively
Researchers are using the integrated framework to gather new data faster and more efficiently. This is crucial, says Cox: “The problem of climate change is accelerating, and advancing our knowledge of causal factors is important.”
Previously, when researchers wanted to incorporate the parameters of other research projects they had to manually search for data and laboriously reproduce the calculations within their own experiment. Cox says: “This is the first time we’ve delivered an integrated solution whereby researchers can sit in front of a Web browser and drive it to completely different scenarios using the data and models of different institutions.”
Scientists Foster Public Awareness and Support
It is much easier for researchers to raise awareness of discoveries with governments and the general public when they can answer specific questions. The new framework can help to encourage faith in the capabilities of science to predict outcomes. As Cox says: “If the media wants to know how many miles of air travel it takes to create a negative impact on the environment, we can offer more accurate estimates and understand what it would take to minimise that effect.”
Scientists can also locate historic research experiments easily, so, in the case of a new finding exposed in the media, scientists can respond and reassure the public very quickly by locating a simulation and running it with the new information.
Scientists Can Focus on Work
One of the project’s aims is to produce an environment where everybody involved in ESM can focus their talents and time on the areas in which they are trained and have experience. In doing so, the project creates a network of members whose knowledge and talents are used for maximum effect.
“It’s important that scientists do the work of scientists, the IT teams can focus on what they do, and researchers can access a wide range of data easily,” says Cox.
For More Information
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Document published June 2007
