Distributed Computing and Climate Change

GraWil writes "The BBC are reporting the launch of climateprediction.net. The aim of the project is to investigate the approximations that have to be made in state-of-the-art climate models which frequently give rise to inconclusive predictions. More info on the current state of climate modeling is given by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which highlights the need to quantify uncertainties of climate projections. So now, in addition to finding ET or curing cancer, your PC can now contribute to our understanding of climate change."

Comments

No Linux

[trolman]

No Linux version for "months." How about folding at home for those of you disappointed masses.

No Linux - but they are trying hard

[Angostura]

There may not be Linux port right now, but I have to say that I'm very impressed with the team's open attitude and the way that they are actively attempting to support various Unix flavours, including Mac OS X as quickly as they can. They take forum suggestions seriously, so get involved.

I'm a SETI and Folding user, but I have to say that I find this project very compelling. We know that cancer is serious, and there are big businesses looking to find answers. The question of climate change is potentially more serious, in my opinion. But we need to find out for sure

Tomorrow's weather report isn't perfect either

[Tau Zero]

Right now the error bars on the climate projections are huge, something close to a 2.5:1 ratio between the best-case and worst-case projections. Even if the only accomplishment is to cut the error bar in half, that would be great progress.

It's kind of like knowing that you have a 60% chance of rain tomorrow, and knowing that the rain will be as heavy showers and will blow through between 1:30 and 4:45 PM. The latter information is far more useful for planning your day than the former.