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USGS Supercomputers & Research

High Performance Computing is a rapidly changing field which requires constant research. At any given time ARC is researching multiple new technologies and methodologies in order to create increasingly efficient and user-friendly workflows, and to provide the computing power necessary for the wide array of scientific computing workloads within the USGS.

Computer server racks
Denali is the USGS's flagship supercomputer installed and housed at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Estimated peak computational performance is expected to be ~660 Tflop/s.  Learn more here: USGS Denali Supercomputer

Need more computing power?

We provide USGS scientists with access to high-performance computing (HPC) resources.

There are three on-premises USGS supercomputers housed in Sioux Falls, SD:

  • Denali is the flagship USGS supercomputer for large-scale models.
  • Tallgrass is a prototype system designed for artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads.
  • Hovenweep is our newest supercomputer and replaces Yeti as the workhorse USGS supercomputer for general-purpose HPC workloads.

For more information or to get started using Denali, Tallgrass, or Hovenweep, contact us at hpc@usgs.gov.

 

Current Research Initiatives

Computer Node
Internal view of a compute node.(Credit: Jeff Falgout. Public domain.)

Accelerator Technologies: Accelerator use has become a standard in modern supercomputing. How can GPUs or other coprocessors be used to benefit scientific research?

Machine Learning: Over the past few years machine learning and deep learning methodologies have taken off and been successful in a variety disciplines, but how can these techniques benefit USGS science?

Emerging Processor Technologies and Software Ecosystems: As new technologies become available, what are the cost savings vs. productivity trade-offs for scientific use cases?

High Performance Data Analytics (HPDA): How can ARC take advantage of the confluence of HPC and Big Data analytics?

Data Management: How can we streamline data management workflows for HPC research? What are the best practices for data movement (transfer) and storage?

Containers: Can containers be used to package entire scientific workflows, software and libraries, and even data? How will they affect reproducibility and portability?

USGS Supercomputers

    • USGS Hovenweep Supercomputer

      Hovenweep is a USGS on-premises supercomputer housed at the EROS Datacenter in Sioux Falls, SD. It is the newest system in our research computing portfolio and is a Cray machine built using the HPE Apollo 2000 Gen 10 platform.

      Hovenweep has replaced Yeti and serves as the workhorse supercomputer for general-purpose HPC workloads.

      link

      USGS Hovenweep Supercomputer

      Hovenweep is a USGS on-premises supercomputer housed at the EROS Datacenter in Sioux Falls, SD. It is the newest system in our research computing portfolio and is a Cray machine built using the HPE Apollo 2000 Gen 10 platform.

      Hovenweep has replaced Yeti and serves as the workhorse supercomputer for general-purpose HPC workloads.

      Learn More
    • USGS Denali Supercomputer

      Denali is one of the USGS's supercomputers installed and housed at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD.

      link

      USGS Denali Supercomputer

      Denali is one of the USGS's supercomputers installed and housed at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD.

      Learn More
    • USGS Tallgrass Supercomputer

      Tallgrass is a Cray Urika-CS prototype system designed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics workloads. Tallgrass is equipped with both the hardware and software to address modern AI, deep learning and machine learning demands.

      link

      USGS Tallgrass Supercomputer

      Tallgrass is a Cray Urika-CS prototype system designed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics workloads. Tallgrass is equipped with both the hardware and software to address modern AI, deep learning and machine learning demands.

      Learn More