NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS)

Goddard Space Flight Center is the home of a state-of-the-art supercomputing facility called the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) that is capable of running highly complex models to help scientists better understand Earth's climate.

To learn more about the unveiling of the NCCS, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/climate-sim-center.html

Content Contact:

Short Video

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    Supercomputing the Climate
    2010.06.02
    This short video introduces the NCCS and takes you behind-the-scenes into the fascinating field of climate modeling. Using supercomputers to process data from satellite observations, these models are used to predict weather and give a picture of how the Earth's systems and climate are changing.
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    Michelle Thaller Live Shot Q&A
    2010.07.22
    On Wednesday, June 2nd Michelle Thaller conducted live satellite interviews around the country. This is a version of the interviews.

B-Roll

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    NCCS Supercomputer
    2010.06.02
    B-roll footage of the supercomputer that is the heart of the new climate simulation center, able to perform a staggering 160 trillion or more calculations per second. (no audio)
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    NCCS Hyperwall
    2010.06.02
    B-roll inside Goddard's new Center for Climate Simulation visualization theater, which features a 17- by 6-foot multi-screen hyperwall. (no audio)
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    NCCS Interview Clips
    2010.06.02
    Select interview clips from Michael G. Bosilovich, meteorologist, NASA Goddard Global Modeling and Assimilation Office and Phil Webster, chief, NASA Goddard Computational and Information Sciences and Technology Office.

Visualizations

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    GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 3.5-km Global Resolution
    2009.11.16
    This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5.). The global atmospheric simulation ran at 3.5 km per grid cell and covered a single day: January 2, 2009. The model output the results at 10 minute intervals. Since there is only one day of simulation data, the sequence of clouds repeats several times. The white flash indicates the sequence is about to repeat.
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    GEOS-5 Model Run Showing Hurricane Katrina
    2007.12.03
    This visualization shows data from a global atmospheric assimilation model for August 2005.
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    GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 7-km Global Resolution
    2009.11.16
    This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5.). The global atmospheric simulation running at 7 km per grid cell covered the period from August 17, 2009 at 21 zulu, through August 26, 2009 at 21 zulu at 30 minute intervals.
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    GEOS-5 at 3.5-km & 10 Minute Interval
    2010.06.01
    This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5.). The global atmospheric simulation ran at 3.5 km per grid cell and covered a single day: January 2, 2009. The results of the simulation were written out at 10 minute intervals.
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    GEOS-5 Clouds at 5-km Resolution
    2010.06.18
    This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS5). The global atmospheric simulation ran at a resolution of 5-km per grid cell and covered a period from Feb 2, 2010 through Feb 22, 2010.
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    GEOS-5 Clouds at 28-km Resolution
    2010.06.18
    This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5.). The global atmospheric simulation ran at a resolution of one quarter degree (or about 28-km) per grid cell and covered a period from Feb 3, 2010 through Feb 13, 2010.
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    Earth Observing Fleet with GEOS-5 Clouds
    2010.06.18
    This visualization is an update to a previous visualization of NASA's Earth observing fleet of spacecraft. Also incuded in this version are a couple of commercial spacecraft as well as the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacecraft ephemerides are from February 2010.
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    MERRA Specific Humidity
    2010.06.24
    This visualization shows the specific humidity dataset produced by MERRA, up to a geopotential height of 20 km. The height coordinate is greatly exaggerated. Both opacity and color are driven by the data value.
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    MERRA Relative Humidity
    2010.06.24
    This visualization shows the relative humidity dataset produced by MERRA, up to a geopotential height of 20 km. The height coordinate is greatly exaggerated. Both opacity and color are driven by the data value.
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    MERRA Wind
    2010.06.24
    This visualization shows the combined U and V components of wind at three different pressure levels: 850 mb, 500 mb, and 300 mb. The pressure coordinate is greatly exaggerated.
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    MERRA Combined Liquid Water and Ice Mixing Ratios
    2010.06.24
    This visualization shows the combined liquid water and ice mixing ratio dataset produced by MERRA, roughly corresponding to cloud cover, up to an geopotential height of 20 km. The height coordinate is greatly exaggerated. Both opacity and color are driven by the data value.

High Res Images

Images can also be found on the Goddard Flickr page.
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    Discover Supercomputer 1
    Image
    The heart of the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) is the "Discover" supercomputer. In 2009, NCCS added more than 8,000 computer processors to Discover, for a total of nearly 15,000 processors. Credit: NASA/Pat Izzo
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    Discover Supercomputer 2
    Image
    Two rows of the "Discover"supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) contain more than 4,000 computer processors. Discover has a total of nearly 15,000 processors. Credit: NASA/Pat Izzo
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    Discover Supercomputer 3
    Image
    This close-up view shows one row--approximately 2,000 computer processors--of the "Discover" supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS). Discover has a total of nearly 15,000 processors. Credit: NASA/Pat Izzo
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    Data Exploration Theater 1
    Image
    The NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) Data Exploration Theater features a 17- by 6-foot multi-screen visualization wall for engaging visitors and scientists with high-definition movies of simulation results. Here, the wall displays a 3.5-kilometer-resolution global simulation that captures numerous cloud types at groundbreaking fidelity. Credit: NASA/Pat Izzo
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    Data Exploration Theater 2
    Image
    The NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) Data Exploration Theater features a 17- by 6-foot multi-screen visualization wall for engaging visitors and scientists with high-definition movies of simulation results. Here, the wall displays a 3.5-kilometer-resolution global simulation that captures numerous cloud types at groundbreaking fidelity. Credit: NASA/Pat Izzo
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    Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)
    Image
    The Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) is producing a comprehensive record of Earth's weather and climate from 1979, the beginning of the operational Earth observing satellite era, up to the present. This visualization depicts specific atmospheric humidity on June 17, 1993, during the Great Flood that hit the Midwestern United States.