The greatest multitasker in NZ
If you’re going to tackle the big questions surrounding climate change, you’re going need a big computer to provide the answers.
Fortunately, the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) now has one of the biggest in the country. Its new $23 million supercomputer comes in three parts.
Two of the sections – nicknamed Ma¯ui and Mahuika – roar loudly all day in a locked bunker in the Wellington suburb of Evans Bay. The third section, Kupe, resides in Auckland.
Niwa principal scientist Michael Uddstrom said it was the most capable computer in New Zealand and could process thousands of tasks daily.
‘‘The supercomputer is primarily a service to simulate something, whether it’s the climate or the weather or the sea ... the supercomputer gives us the ability to do that because we’re able to look at the future.’’
The computer is loud, must be kept cool, and lives under lock and key in an enclosed bunker to keep the salt air out.
Uddstrom said it used the same amount of power as about 300 houses, and even more to
keep it cool. It has an expected lifespan of about six years, he said.
Niwa chief scientist for climate and hazards Sam Dean said the computer was ‘‘just a thing’’ but it would take people to new places with their research.
‘‘This is under the hood with the bonnet open wide . . . you have to have a high level of technical computing ability,’’ he said.
‘‘Whenever we get a new supercomputer, it really expands the horizons of our science, and how big we’re thinking, and what we can do.’’
Ma¯ui, Mahuika and Kupe replace FitzRoy, Niwa’s previous supercomputer, which last year helped forecast a future where Wellington was as hot as Sydney, and Wairarapa was plagued by droughts by 2090 if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated.
But FitzRoy could not keep up with the modern-day demands of climate modelling.
Its replacement has up to 13 times the computing capability, more than six times the storage capacity, and provides more than 33,500 compute cores – equivalent to about 16,000 laptops.
‘‘There are a whole lot of people that use this to create amazing things, and we use it for climate modelling, to look at New Zealand’s climate and emissions, and different scenarios in the future and what that might mean,’’ Dean said.