Robot Technology News
ROBO SPACE
IBM and NASA unveil open-source AI model for climate and weather applications
illustration only
IBM and NASA unveil open-source AI model for climate and weather applications
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 25, 2024

IBM (NYSE: IBM) has introduced a new open-source AI foundation model aimed at weather and climate analysis, now available to researchers, developers, and businesses. Created in collaboration with NASA and with contributions from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the model is designed for a wide array of weather-related tasks and long-term climate projections.

The model's architecture allows for versatile applications beyond the capabilities of traditional AI weather models, according to a recent paper published on arXiv titled "Prithvi WxC: Foundation Model for Weather and Climate." Some uses include improving localized forecasts, predicting severe weather, enhancing global climate simulations, and refining numerical models of physical processes. A key experiment in the paper demonstrated the model's ability to reconstruct global surface temperatures from just five percent of the original data.

This foundation model was trained using NASA's MERRA-2 dataset, which comprises 40 years of Earth observation data. Its scalable design allows for fine-tuning to meet various global, regional, and local requirements, making it a versatile tool for weather studies.

Available for download on Hugging Face, the model includes two fine-tuned versions designed for specific climate and weather applications:

1. Climate and Weather Data Downscaling: This fine-tuned model enables the creation of high-resolution forecasts from low-resolution data, such as temperature, precipitation, and surface winds, with up to 12x resolution improvements.

2. Gravity Wave Parameterization: Gravity waves, which significantly affect climate and weather processes, have been poorly represented in traditional models. This model improves the accuracy of simulations involving these waves, reducing uncertainty in forecasting climate events.

Karen St. Germain, director of NASA's Earth Science Division, emphasized the importance of tools like this model in providing actionable science, noting, "The rapid changes we're witnessing on our home planet demand this strategy to meet the urgency of the moment."

Juan Bernabe-Moreno, Director of IBM Research Europe, highlighted the flexibility of the model, stating, "We have designed our weather and climate foundation model to go beyond the limitations of single-use AI models."

Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Arjun Shankar underscored the significance of this collaboration for advancing research, explaining, "Our collaboration with IBM and NASA to support the creation of the Prithvi weather and climate foundation model was a key part of our goal to bring advanced computing and data to problems of national importance."

IBM has already begun working with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to test the model's flexibility, focusing on short-term precipitation forecasting using real-time radar data. The team is also testing downscaling from global to regional forecasts.

This AI foundation model is part of a broader partnership between IBM Research and NASA aimed at leveraging AI to explore Earth. It is the latest addition to the Prithvi family of models, joining last year's geospatial AI foundation model, which has been widely used for analyzing disaster patterns, biodiversity, and other environmental changes.

The weather and climate foundation model and the gravity wave parameterization model can be accessed through NASA-IBM's Hugging Face page at https://huggingface.co/Prithvi-WxC, while the downscaling model is available via IBM Granite at https://huggingface.co/ibm-granite.

Related Links
NASA-IBM Hugging Face
All about the robots on Earth and beyond!

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
ROBO SPACE
The potential impact of AI on jobs
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to reshape various industries, but its specific impact on different jobs remains uncertain. Daniele Quercia and his team at Nokia Bell Labs Cambridge used machine learning to explore how AI itself could influence a range of occupational tasks. Their study analyzed 17,879 task descriptions from O'NET, a US government occupations database, and 24,758 AI patents filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office between 2015 and 2022. The researchers appli ... read more

ROBO SPACE
Northrop Grumman highlights MQ-4C Triton navigation test over Arctic Ocean

Iran unveils new drone, missile amid rising tensions

Pro-Iran groups in Iraq claim drone attack against Israel: statement

Airbus Assigns GMV to Develop Navigation System for SIRTAP UAS

ROBO SPACE
Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store

Oracle to invest $6.5 bn in Malaysian cloud services region

Google to invest $1 billion in Thailand

Indian artisans tackle waste with creative upcycling

ROBO SPACE
Orbitronics could usher in energy-efficient tech with new material advances

UK govt buys semiconductor facility key to defence

Beijing slams reported US trade ban on cars with Chinese tech

A smoother way to study 'twistronics'

ROBO SPACE
United States approves $1.52B loan to restart Michigan's Palisades nuclear plant

GE Vernova moves forward with UK Small Modular Reactor competition

Sweden to start building new nuclear reactor by 2026: PM

Restarting nuclear power plants: the unprecedented gamble in the US

ROBO SPACE
Anti-jihadist coalition mission in Iraq ending in 2025

French IS suspect to be tried over enslavement of Yazidi teenager

UN decries 'horrific' torture as Myanmar sinks into rights 'abyss'

Four Islamic State leaders killed in August Iraq raid: CENTCOM

ROBO SPACE
Urgent need for climate-friendly aircon: UN report

US fund to buy German energy firm Techem for 6.7 bn euros

European Green Deal could unintentionally raise global emissions

Net-zero pledges growing but integrity lacking: study

ROBO SPACE
Fire breaks out at Chinese battery giant CATL plant

A high-energy-density Mars battery designed for long-term missions

ManchesterU launches M4 wave energy converter in Australia

Philippines' Marcos opens first EV battery plant

ROBO SPACE
Xi emphasizes China's drive to lead in space exploration

China launches Yaogan 43B remote-sensing satellites from Xichang

Shenzhou-18 Crew Tests Fire Alarms and Conducts Medical Procedures in Space

Astronauts on Tiangong Space Station Complete Fire Safety Drill

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.