HR: 1340h
AN: SM13A-0334 [Abstracts]
TI: Using Branch Prediction and Speculative Execution for Magnetospheric Data Assimilation
AU: * Doxas, I
EM: doxas@colorado.edu
AF: Center for Integrated Plasma Srudies, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309
United States
AU: Lyon, J
EM: lyon@tinman.dartmouth.edu
AF: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
United States
AB:
Recent advances in the development of integrated models of the Sun-Earth environment are placing increasing emphasis on data
assimilation schemes that can maximize the intelligence extracted from our sparse sampling of upwind conditions. Standard
Kalman Filter techniques, widely used in tropospheric weather modeling, require significantly better coverage than is
available upwind. To maximize the input of sparse upwind and magnetospheric data, and to reduce the forecast lead time
computational penalty, we proposed to use Branch Prediction and Speculative Execution (BPSE) for data assimilation (Doxas and
Horton,~2002). Branch Prediction and Speculative Execution consists of making probabilistic estimates of current upstream
conditions, and distributing among available machines a large number of simulations that assume each of the probabilistically
estimated states as initial conditions. As the near-Earth space evolves and near-Earth satellite data are compared with the
models, some of the speculatively executed simulations will be seen to diverge from the observations more than others. At
that point the machines that were executing them will be reassigned to new lines of speculative simulation, resulting in a
continuous ensemble of runs that are in the neighborhood of the measured values. The scheme is particularly suited to Space
Weather since our upwind early warning sentries can provide only sparse sampling of the incoming solar wind, while the bulk
of our monitors, which can provide significantly better coverage, are located close to Earth and provide much shorter lead
times. By the time the data come in from the near-Earth monitors, the forecasts of the speculative simulations are already in
hand, reducing the lead time computational penalty (the portion of the lead time devoted to advancing the model) to almost
zero. The scheme is similar to Ensemble Kalman Filters but is less reliant on dense data coverage, allows numerical models
easier adherence to conservation laws, and can be used with empirical models without modification.
Doxas, I., and W. Horton, Using Branch Prediction and Speculative Execution to Forecast Space Weather, Geomagnetic
Environment Modeling conference, Telluride, CO (2002).
DE: 2722 Forecasting (7924, 7964)
DE: 7924 Forecasting (2722)
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005