Climate and Crop Growth, continuing the cycle of cause and effect
2/12/2010
Wrapping Up the Mission with Supercomputers
Student Argonaut Karina Jougla
I'm never sure what to expect on our missions, and today was no different. First thing in the morning, we headed back to the Oak Ridge National Lab where we spent some time yesterday with Dr. Virginia Dale. We put on our lab coats and safety goggles and began analyzing the soil sample that we had taken at the switchgrass field. Two of our guest scientists, Chuck Gartner and Deanne Bryce, helped us measure the different chemical components of our sample by combusting the soil in a carbon nitrogen analyzer.
Next, we headed over to the National Center for Computational Sciences. On our walk across the Oak Ridge facility, we noticed radioactivity warning signs and men wearing hazmat suits. It was a reminder of the other kinds of research projects that go on at the Oak Ridge National Lab. Oak Ridge is one of the top facilities for nuclear research in the United States. It's incredible to think that we were standing in a place where such cutting-edge scientific discoveries are being made.
At the National Center for Computational Sciences, we talked with Dr. Bob about the supercomputers in the Oak Ridge lab that are used to generate scientific models. Just to get an idea of how powerful a supercomputer is, imagine 8000 cargo ships each loaded with 1000 school buses and each bus filled completely with textbooks! That's the amount of information that a supercomputer can process in a single second! Of course, it takes a lot of power to run a supercomputer. This particular supercomputer system consumes as much energy as the city of Knoxville here in Tennessee.
After getting a special tour of the supercomputer lab, we got to see the Everest Display screen, twenty-seven digital monitors combined to make one giant screen! Here at Oak Ridge, the Everest Display is used to visually represent the scientific models and data sets generated by the supercomputer.
One of Virginia Dale's colleagues, a geologist named Esther, showed us colorful relief maps of Tennessee and the local area that reveal how soil eroded by weather washes into the watersheds. Another scientist, Mike, explained the mathematics and economics that are involved in deciding which plots of land are most suited for growing switchgrass. Next, Alex, one of the minds behind the Everest Display technology, presented an animated map of the continental U.S. showing how climate affects crop growth. Seeing this map helped me understand the connection between climate, bioenergy, and geology.
Crops like switchgrass are refined into ethanol, which is a promising alternative fuel source. By exploring these avenues of alternative energy, we are hoping to show the effects of greenhouse gases on climate change. However, climate change in turn affects crop growth, continuing the cycle of cause and effect.
While the relationships between different areas of science may not always be obvious, our research at Mount St. Helens and in Tennessee has helped us to make connections between weathering, erosion, agriculture, soil, biofuel, and climate change.
