[November 25, 2008] DANTE: Millennium Simulations Reconstruct And Predict Climate Change Using GeANT2 Network; State-Of-The-Art Earth Systemmodel To Be Showcased At ICT Event Tweet (M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) RDATE:25112008 ICT Event, Lyon, Franceand Cambridge, UK: Researchers into climate change will be able to access simulations spanning the last millennium and into the future through a major new Earth Modelling initiative. The MillenniumSimulations, a project carried out by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, is using the high speed, pan-European GeANT2 network to connect remote research sites to its central systemand process and share results between project participants and the wider research community. The MillenniumSimulations apply a comprehensive Earth SystemModel to reproduce the climate evolution from800 AD to present and to provide projections of future climate development using prescribed scenarios of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The simulations of the past climate use newly assembled reconstructions of natural forcing factors (including volcanic eruptions, changes in the Earth's orbit and variation of solar irradiance). In addition, human activities, such as land-use-change and greenhouse gas emissions, are included. The Earth System Model contains sub-models for atmosphere, ocean, land-surface, and ocean-biogeochemistry. For the first time, climate simulations are carried out with a model featuring an interactive carbon cycle. A highly sophisticated video-rendering machine at the German Climate Computing Centre is used to convert the resulting data into information for scientists to analyse. This data is collated by researchers across a number of sites, including Helsinki, Zurich and Wageningen, with the GeANT2 network enabling fast, seamless sharing of information. Given the processing power needed to run the model, high performance computers, working in parallel need to be used, all linked through the GeANT2 network. The resulting simulations in the Millennium data library can be accessed by researchers worldwide through the World Data Centre for Climate, hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany. Modern rendering techniques and the power and geographical reach of the GeANT2 network allow these large files to be quickly shared globally, allowing wider information distribution and sharing between scientists. This helps projects working on climate change as well as historians and geographers, to identify the factors that result in climate changes. The project is being showcased on the GeANT2 booth at the 2008 ICT Event (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/ict/2008/exhibition/call /index_en.htm) in Lyon, France, between 25 and 27 November 2008. The GeANT2 network is operated by research networking organisation DANTE. "Through the Millennium Simulations we will provide model results that are needed to explore the climate of the past and to better understand present and future climate variations. We will therefore help scientists and researchers around the world to collaborate in this fundamental research area and to foster the understanding needed for adaptation and mitigation of climate change," said Reinhard Budich, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. "By working with the GeANT2 network we can not only connect remote research sites and process data but also share our results with the global Earth Sciences community, widening understanding in this vital area." "Global collaboration is the only way of tackling the major challenge of climate change and the Millennium Simulations provide essential data needed by researchers and scientists across the world," said Dai Davies, General Manager, DANTE. "This initiative is another example of the positive impact that GeANT2 is having on important projects across the world. In addition to climate change, it is enabling high profile scientific research at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, through radio astronomy to telemedicine, history and music." The MillenniumSimulations project is just one of the innovative research initiatives enabled by the pan-European GeANT2 network, which has played a key role in shaping global research and education over the past four years. By connecting researchers, the network enables the best minds across Europe and the world to together pursue collaborative and ground-breaking research activities that were previously impossible or inefficient due to limited and poor quality data connections. Other leading projects that are benefiting fromGeANT2's combination of capacity, geographical coverage and advanced technology include CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the EXPReS radio astronomy initiative, the Brazilian Telehealth Initiative and the New World Symphony Orchestra. About the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology is an internationally recognised research institute. With roughly 200 employees from around the world, it carries out research into the dynamics of climate and of the Earth system. It develops models and measurement methods in order to study processes in the Earth's atmosphere, in the ocean and in the biosphere. The MPI-M wants to understand the variability of these processes, and to simulate the interactions between theses Earth system components. It wants to detect why climate changes and which of the numerous natural and man-made causes influence the climatic events. The regional effects of climate change and the consequences for the water cycle and air quality are of particular interest here. Computer models allow the MPI-M to describe past climates and to estimate potential climate changes in the future. It develops the models together with meteorologists, oceanographers, physicists, chemists, biologists, information scientists and satellite experts in partner institutes in Germany and worldwide. About GeANT2: GeANT2 is an advanced pan-European backbone network that interconnects National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) across Europe. With an estimated 30 million research and education users in 34 countries across the continent connected via the NRENs, GeANT2 offers unrivalled geographical coverage, high bandwidth, innovative hybrid networking technology and a range of user-focused services, making it the most advanced international network in the world. Together with the NRENs it connects, GeANT2 has links totalling more than 50,000km in length and its extensive geographical reach interconnects networks in other world regions to enable global research collaboration. Europe's academics and researchers can exploit dedicated GeANT2 point-to-point links, creating optical private networks that connect specific research centres. GeANT2 is co-funded by the European Commission under the EU's Sixth Research and Development Framework Programme. The project partners are 30 European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), TERENA and DANTE. GeANT2 is operated by DANTE on behalf of Europe's NRENs. For more information, visit www.geant2.net About DANTE DANTE is a non-profit organisation, co-funded by the European Commission and working in partnership with European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to plan, build and operate advanced networks for research and education. Established in 1993, DANTE has been fundamental to the success of pan-European research and education networking. DANTE has built and operates GeANT2, which provides the data communications infrastructure essential to the success of many research projects in Europe. DANTE is involved in worldwide initiatives to interconnect countries in the other regions to one another and to GeANT2. DANTE currently manages projects focussed on the Mediterranean, Latin American and Asia-Pacific regions through the EUMEDCONNECT, ALICE and TEIN2 projects, respectively. CONTACT: Chris Measures / Clodagh Boyle; Rainier PR for DANTE Tel: +44 (0)20 7494 6570 e-mail: [email protected] Helen Martindale, DANTE Tel: +44 (0)1223 371 328 Tel: +44 (0)7823 538 090 e-mail: [email protected] WWW: http://www.dante.net Matt Watson, Rainier PR Tel: +44 (0)2074 946 582 Tel: +44 (0)7810 187 043 e-mail: [email protected] WWW: http://www.rainierpr.co.uk ((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to [email protected])). Copyright ? 2008 M2 Communications Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]