ACADEMIA

Cray Inc. and the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) today announced that KMA has put into production one of the fastest operational numerical weather prediction system in the world. KMA takes advantage of the processing speed of its new Cray X1E supercomputer to facilitate development and operational services for long-range weather prediction and climate study, resulting in more accurate and timely weather, seasonal climate and ocean wave forecasts. KMA's Cray X1E system, ranked number 16 on the TOP500 list of supercomputer sites published in November 2005, is equipped with 1,024 processors that deliver a peak performance of 18.5 teraflops (18.5 trillion floating point operations per second). The system became fully operational with an opening ceremony performed at KMA's supercomputing center in Seoul to mark the event. "We at KMA are proud to host such an impressive capability and excited that our new Cray X1E system is up and running," said Dongil Lee, chief of the Supercomputer Center at KMA. "The system allows us to run very large-scale models and numerous ensemble members, as well as employ advanced data assimilation and model parameterization techniques, that will greatly benefit our predictive activities and scientific research. This helps us further our mission of ensuring public welfare through improved meteorology." "We are delighted that the Cray X1E supercomputer passed KMA's rigorous acceptance process and is meeting their high expectations," said Per Nyberg, Cray's Director, Earth Sciences Segment. "The launch of this new system, together with Cray's involvement in KMA's Earth System Research Center, underscores our close relationship with KMA and emphasizes the important role Cray products play in operational weather forecasting worldwide."