NSF NCAR provides supercomputing, data analysis, storage, and a curated archive of Earth system science data, all free to the research community. Datasets in the Geoscience Data Exchange (GDEX) are open to everyone. Computing on Derecho and Casper is available to U.S.-based researchers in Earth system science. Most projects need an NSF award, but graduate students, postdocs, new faculty, instructors, and data analysis projects can apply without one.
Find what you want to do below, and you’ll go straight to the right place to start.
Compute, Models, and ML Training
Allocations are free.
Eligibility requirements: Users must be U.S.-based and doing Earth system science or related research, and most projects require an NSF award, with exceptions for graduate students, postdocs, new faculty, classroom use, and data analysis without NSF funding.
For more insight, please review the NCAR HPC documentation.
| I want to… | What I need | Who can use it | Go here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run models, train ML, or analyze data on NCAR systems | A resource allocation | U.S.-based researchers in Earth system science; most projects need an NSF award, with exceptions for graduate students, postdocs, new faculty, classroom use, and data analysis | |
| Learn to use Derecho, Casper, JupyterHub, Open OnDemand, or CIRRUS | An NCAR user account | Allocation holders | NCAR HPC user manual |
| Get computing assistance from live consultants, plus in-person and video consultations | Nothing | Anyone | HPC Help Desk |
| Analyze data, often with Jupyter via Open OnDemand | HPC account with an allocation | Anyone in UCAR, or a UCAR member working with a UCAR partner |
Still uncertain? Here are our help resources
- HPC Help Desk
- Consulting
- NHUG Slack (for members of the NCAR HPC User Group Slack workspace)
Data Resources with the Geoscience Data Exchange (GDEX)
| I want to… | What I need | Who can use it | Go here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find and download a dataset | No account needed | Anyone; GDEX provides FAIR, public access to its data | |
| Work with a GDEX dataset on Casper or Derecho | NCAR HPC account needed | Anyone with an NCAR HPC account | See examples |
| Work with GDEX data from my own machine or the cloud | No account needed | Anyone. Through the Open Science Data Federation (OSDF), GDEX supports remote streaming of all datasets | GDEX and the OSDF |
| Contribute a dataset | A submission request | NSF NCAR, UCAR Community Programs, and projects funded by the NSF Geoscience Directorate | Submit a new dataset |
| Get data help | Nothing | Anyone | GDEX Data Help Desk, or email datahelp@ucar.edu |
Acknowledgements
Please ensure you acknowledge the support of NSF NCAR and CISL computing when you publish your research results. This helps ensure continued support from the U.S. National Science Foundation and other sources of funding for future high-performance computing systems.
It is also a requirement for receiving an allocation, as noted in your award letter.
The reporting requirements and recommended wording of acknowledgments can be found on the Advanced Research Computing portal. The content of citations and acknowledgments varies depending on the type of allocation that was awarded.