Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Progress in addressing the major challenges of predicting the future of our planet under the stresses of internal and external natural forces can be accelerated by the development of computational tools which integrate the wide variety of Earth science disciplines, modelling strategies and data sets needed to solve global scale problems and to train young scientists in frontier fields of research. We propose the establishment of a computational and data handling platform to unravel and to model mechanisms driving Earth surface processes and Earth System evolution. We request support for essential upgrades to a Sun E10K computer cluster donated to the GEOTOP-UQAM-McGill research centre by EDS Canada in order to perform the required numerical modeling and advanced data treatment. The proposed numerical and data management facility will provide a powerful environment for addressing complex Earth system problems. Research projects depending upon the success of this application are integrated into networks and programs of several international agencies (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Consortium, IAEA-Vienna, UNESCO-IUGS) and involve close collaboration with several national (UofT, UVic, UBC, Dalhousie, Environment Canada, NR-Can, DFO) and foreign institutions (notably in the US & the European Union). Recent faculty recruitment at McGill and UQAM now provides us with the human resources needed to apply new geophysical and geochemical tools to major Earth System science questions. Therefore, leading-edge computer resources are required for the growth of geophysical modeling initiatives at GEOTOP, in particular to support innovative modeling that integrates geochemical and geophysical observations and produces planetary-scale, time-series solutions and graphical simulations. The proposed data management facility will support research in three important fields: crust-mantle interactions, climate dynamics, biogeochemical cycling of elements. Research in these areas will help to address the challenges posed by Canada's territorial expanse and extensive oceanic margins, its vulnerability to tectonic activity and climatic change.