Session: 17-01-01: Research Posters

Paper Number: 150739

150739 - Evaluation of Graphics Processing Units (Gpus) Performance of Ice-Sheet and Sea-Level System Model Flow Solver 

The global mean sea level is rising at an average rate of 3.7 mm/yr, posing a significant threat to coastal communities and global ecosystems [1-2]. The increase in Antarctic ice discharge contributes significantly to the rising sea levels. However, its dynamic response to climate change remains a fundamental uncertainty in sea level rise projections [3-5]. Conventional central processing units (CPUs) limit the time needed to run simulation ensembles of continental-scale Antarctic ice sheet model forward in time to assess better its sea-level contribution sensitivity to uncertainties in climate forcing parameterization. Ice flow predictions are the most computationally expensive part of ice sheet simulations in terms of computer memory and execution time. Leveraging graphics processing units (GPUs) to alleviate the high computational costs associated with ice flow simulations can provide an enhanced balance between speed and predictive performance. Here, we investigate NVIDIA’s Algebraic Multigrid Solver (AmgX) Library’s ability to leverage the GPUs to alleviate the high computational costs associated with ice flow simulations and compare them with a standard central processing unit (CPU) implementation. We run ice flow simulations using the Ice-sheet and Sea-level System Model (ISSM) [6]. Our models include real glaciers in Antarctica.  The overarching goal is to further enable the quantification of model sensitivity to changes in upcoming climate forcings. These findings will significantly benefit process-oriented sea-level-projection studies over the coming decades.

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Presenting Author: Kenneth Mosley University of North Dakota

Presenting Author Biography: Kenneth Mosley is a graduate mechanical engineering student at the University of North Dakota, where he is currently a research assistant. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Temple University. His research interests include glacial modeling, computational fluid dynamics, high performance computing, and finite element analysis for mechanical and biomedical applications.

Authors:

Kenneth Mosley University of North Dakota
Anjali Sandip University of North Dakota
Mathieu Morlighem Dartmouth College