Scientists launch effort to make 3D models of how Gulf oil spill will affect coast

Slashdot | NSF Gives Supercomputer Time For 3D Model of Spill

Computerworld | Researchers race to produce 3D models of BP oil spill

Acting within 24 hours of receiving a request from researchers, the National Science Foundation late last week made an emergency allocation of 1 million compute hours on a supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas to study how the oil spreading from BP’s gusher will affect coastlines.

The goal is to produce models that can forecast how the oil may spread in environmentally sensitive areas by showing in detail what happens when oil interacts with marshes, vegetation and currents.

What may be just as important are models that simulate what could happen if a hurricane carried the oil miles inland, said researchers in interviews.

This is the best use of the government’s scientific funds on this horrible disaster yet. Looking forward to images from and analyses of the model runs.

This story written by Maitri Erwin

Maitri Erwin is a geophysicist at an independent energy company, where she wades through terabytes of 3D seismic data daily. She has previously worked as 3D-geospatial technology executive and energy geoscientist. Maitri is also Indian Languages advisor to Project Gutenberg, the oldest producer of free electronic books.