New supercomputer for better weather forecasts

The new “High Performance Computer” (HPC) – also known as the “crisis computer” – at the Hohe Warte in Vienna-Döbling costs 2.5 million euros and is exclusively available to Geosphere Austria, according to the successor to the former Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) for journalists. The money comes from the Ministry of Education. This investment was necessary because the Geosphere takes on important tasks in the context of crisis prevention, such as model calculations of the possible spread of pollutants or radioactive substances in the air after (nuclear) accidents or predictions about the occurrence and development of bizarre weather conditions such as the devastating floods a few weeks ago in the east of the country.

Austria “geographical complex”
It is precisely during such events that “the value of predictions” in the “geographically complex” country of Austria becomes clear, emphasizes Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP). Geosphere Austria provides important support to emergency services in the event of a disaster 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 secured 24 hours a day, as IT manager Ernst Mosor and his colleague Matthias Langer explained.

Particularly in the event of disasters, it becomes clear that cooperation with, among others, the authorities of the states in Austria is “very well coordinated”, says Andreas Schaffhauser, Managing Director of Geosphere. If you look at the current devastation in the Valencia region and the criticism of Spanish crisis management, it becomes clear that in the event of an emergency you need to know all the main parties well and “bring the scientific findings and results to the user”. The work is therefore often divided into “80 percent communications and 20 percent meteorology,” as Schaffhauser put it.

The new powerful computer has been carrying out the current model calculations for weather forecasts and warnings since August. With the new purchase, climate and weather forecasts can not only be made more accurately, but also about 20 to 40 percent faster. For comparison: the ‘old’ HPC processed just over 500 billion computer operations (gigaflops) per second.

A closer look at individual Alpine valleys
The new capabilities also make it possible to methodically more accurately estimate how extreme weather events can affect individual Alpine valleys. Looking at the heavy rain events that are becoming more and more likely due to climate change, despite all the progress, the following applies: “We are always dealing with a chaotic system,” said the Geosphere boss.

Currently, forecasts for the meteorologically and geographically challenging Alpine region and its surroundings for the next 60 hours are calculated every three hours under the acronym “AROME”. Under the title “AROME-RUC” – the latter stands for “Rapid Update Cycle” – forecasts are made hourly of developments in the next twelve hours. If this system fails, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in Reading (Great Britain) can take over the complex simulations within a few minutes in an international collaboration. In addition, they now increasingly want to carry out individual research projects via the infrastructure.

New analyzes of heat possible
In addition, experts use the new computer to calculate analyzes of the heat distribution in metropolitan areas. Since the 1990s, “temperatures have increased tremendously,” Schaffhauser says. The unprecedented increase is leading to a multiplication of hot days in metropolitan areas, which can now be broken down “very finely” into individual parts of the city and districts and forecast for the next twenty to thirty years.

To avoid contributing to the creation of an urban heat island on the Hohe Warte, you have opted for a modern cooling concept for the mainframe computer. Energy efficiency and “green IT” are a big topic these days, Mosor and Langer said. While the previous system cost around €150,000 per year to operate, the new system should be around €50,000 cheaper to operate.