IBM''s Blackforest to model global weather

IBM''s RS/6000 supercomputer, nicknamed ''Blackforest'' will be used to model global climate patterns at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the US. This supercomputer will be placed at the NCAR centre in Boulder, Colorado.

The machine will help scientists and forecasters study and understand all meteorological phenomena like droughts, rainfall, global warming, phenomena like microbursts, magnetic flux tubes between the earth and sun, forest fires with pollution models, climate models and many other complex modelling tools.

The ''Blackforest'' is twenty times as powerful as the ''Deep Blue'', which defeated chess world champion Gary Kasparov, and is priced at about $ 6.2 million. It will replace a Cray supercomputer on the weather modelling tasks.