SCD lead story: September 19, 2005
"SCD upgrade to NCAR Computer Room will enhance atmospheric research"

Gary New, assistant manager of SCD's Enterprise Services Section, gestures toward the cooling tower, located to the rear of NCAR's Mesa Laboratory.

Inside the cooling tower, water carrying heat from the Computer Room breaks into a spray of droplets and is chilled by large fans. The heat dissipates into the outside air, where it is the source of the steam often seen behind the Mesa Lab in the winter.

During the recent Computer Room upgrade, the fans in the cooling tower were improved to increase cooling efficiency.

Photo: Lynda Lester, NCAR/CISL