Fastest computer in the Rockies tapped for range of projects

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A new supercomputer at a federally funded research center in Wyoming will do important work for a wide range of Earth science research. Among upcoming projects:

- Researchers at the University of Wyoming are simulating air currents around the spinning blades of wind turbines, data that could help make wind farms more efficient. Wyoming ranks among the top states for wind energy potential and within a decade could be home to the nation's biggest wind farm, the 1,000-turbine Chokecherry and Sierra Madre project under development by The Anschutz Corp., which traces its roots to the oil industry.

- University of Delaware and federal scientists are modeling how the sun produces solar flares, blasts of radiation through space that can threaten satellites and even the power grid.

- A study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research will research how mimicking the effects of a volcanic eruption by deliberately putting sulfates into the atmosphere could work to counter the effects of climate change.