VISUALIZATION

Americans concerned about the possible consequences of global warming can participate in www.climateprediction.net by donating spare capacity on their desktop PCs to the world’s largest public computing project. The real-time desktop visualization software used in the experiment, developed by Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG), ensures that participants are not only able to contribute to the experiment but also can track the progress of their simulation as cloud cover and temperature changes on the surface of the globe. Rob Meyer, CEO of NAG comments, “Most computer users are not using their machines to full capacity when they have them. The climateprediction.net program simply runs in the background tapping into unused processing capacity. Once users have set the software up on their system they do not need to do anything more, and the experiment will not interfere with a computer user’s regular computing activities. What they can do however, thanks to the data visualization software the NAG team developed for this experiment, is keep track of the project as it unfolds and monitor how their PC has contributed to the experiment. If you like Google Earth, you will love climateprediction.net. Participants can also have the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping to change the world’s outlook on global warming.” Climateprediction.net is now being promoted by a growing number of print and broadcast media outlets worldwide. As of March 2006, more than 47,000 computers worldwide were participating in the experiment, so far helping to model more than 11 million years of climate change. To find out more about the project and how to participate, please visit its web site.