The frequently asked questions are in five sections, to help you at different stages of your participation in the project:
- The project and what you can do to help
What we are doing and what we want you to do.
- Downloading and starting the project
Problems, concerns and queries you may have before or during installation.
- While your project is running
Your project simulation is working. What else do you need to know?
- Ending the project
What happens once you reach completion, or if you have to quit?
- Background information
Information about the climateprediction.net Seasonal Attribution project.
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1. The project and what you can do to help
What does the project do?
The project adds the processing power of your home or office computer to thousands of others to determine the extent to which extreme weather events are attributable to climate change. The same model that the Met Office uses to make daily weather forecasts has been adapted by climateprediction.net to run on home PCs.
In particular, this Seasonal Attribution Project focuses on extreme weather events that occur on seasonal timescales, and the event we are currently trying to attribute to human-induced climate change is one like the United Kingdom floods of Autumn 2000. We are using a high spatial resolution version of the standard climateprediction.net model to do this.
The model incorporates thousands of slightly differing start conditions, which reflect our uncertainty about what exactly the real world was like in Autumn 2000. Your computer will run a simulation with a unique one of these start conditions – in effect your individual version of what the world's weather might have been like in Autumn 2000 – and then report back to the project team what it calculates.
Crucially, half of these simulations include the effects of human-induced climate change, and the other half do not. So by comparing the results of all these simulations, we can investigate any impact of human activity on the extreme weather risk associated with the flooding.
Read more details about the project.
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Do I have to find or enter any data?
No. The simulations are computer models of global climate. All the maths is done by your computer, based on information in the initial download.
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What do I have to do?
Apart from installing some free software, not much!
The download and installation are handled by a conventional Windows installation wizard like you have probably come across before. See the FAQs under Downloading and starting the project.
The project runs in the background whenever your computer is on and logged into Windows. It starts automatically and reports its results without you lifting a finger. You can also change the preferences for when you want it to run (e.g. run only at night).
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What does my computer do?
Your computer downloads and unpacks the project itself. The project simulation will be running within about five to ten minutes of the download finishing.
Your computer will start calculating variables such as temperature, cloud cover and rain fall in the model world. It will perform these calculations for a single model year, beginning on 01 April 2000, and ending on 01 April 20001. This way we can investigate Autumn 2000, as well as important conditions leading up to and after this period. Once your simulation has ended, the final results will be automatically sent back to Oxford University.
The download includes a spinning globe screensaver so you can monitor the evolution of the weather for your own Earth. See also – What does the screensaver show?
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How long will it take to complete on my computer?
This depends on the specification of your computer, how much it's switched on and how intensively you use it for other things.
A fast machine (on all the time) will complete a simulation in 2-3 weeks. A slow machine could take 1-2 months or even longer.
Don't worry if your simulation seems to be be running slowly. The project team will value your results no matter how long you take.
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What is BOINC?
Please see – How BOINC works.
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2. Downloading and starting the project
Is my computer suitable?
The climate model used for the Seasonal Attribution project is compatible with PCs running Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT and Linux.
Most desktop PCs able to run Windows XP/2000/NT will have enough computing power to join the project. Naturally, a more modern or high-spec computer will produce results more rapidly.
You need:
- a broadband connection to the Internet, although the data rate (speed) of that connection is not important
- 0.5GB (500 megabytes) of free space on your hard disk drive – check this by opening Windows Explorer,
right-clicking on your computer hard drive (often labelled C:) and selecting 'Properties'
- in total at least 1GB of RAM (memory) – see how much you have at the same time as you check your processor type
- a processor recommended to be at least as powerful as a 2.4GHz Intel Pentium 4 (slower processors can also run simulations, but results will taker longer to obtain) – you can check this by right-clicking on the My Computer icon on your desktop, and then selecting 'Properties'.
Laptop computers may get very hot running the project, because it is processor intensive and they have less cooling capacity than desktop computers. You are advised not to run the project on a laptop.
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Can I use Linux or a Mac?
Many Linux kernels are suitable. If you are running Linux, see the instructions for Linux link when you join the project.
Unfortunately the Apple Mac is not supported for this project.
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Is the download safe and secure?
It is based on widely used software (called BOINC) and has been extensively tested to ensure participants are not vulnerable to viruses and that the data returned to Oxford University cannot be tampered with.
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What should I do if I get a virus alert or security warning during installation?
Your computer will ask you whether you want to trust content from a our server and run or save the file. To carry on when that warning appears, click 'Run'.
NB: getting other advisory alerts about the potential virus risk of the installation does NOT mean that there actually is a virus in the download.
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Is the whole process free?
Yes, except for your computer's running costs.
Please don't waste electricity. You don't need to have your computer switched on any more than you normally do. Turning your screen off and leaving your computer on will not affect the project.
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Is the download and installation automatic?
Yes. Once you've clicked on the Join the Project link and followed all the instructions everything should be installed and your project should be running.
You will find the BOINC application in the Programs section of your Windows Start Menu once installation is complete.
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I can't create an account or log in - where can I get help?
If, after following the instructions to Join the Project you are unable to create an account or log in to the project website, then there may be a problem either with your set-up or with our project server. In this case we suggest posting the details of your problem on the message board shared between all climateprediction.net projects which is at: http://www.climateprediction.net/board/index.php. Because that message board is shared it does not pre-require you to have signed up to any single project in order to receive help.
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Why do I have to give you an email address?
Each person who takes part runs the Oxford University climate model under one set of conditions. (See What does the project do?) The best way for the research team to keep track of the conditions in use is with a unique identifier such as an email address.
You will also need your email address if you wish to change your BOINC options at a later date. This is not essential and only recommended for advanced users.
Your email address will not be disclosed to any third party and you will not receive unsolicited emails.
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What if the software does cause problems and I want to uninstall?
Please see – Can I pull out of the project at any time?
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3. While your project is running
What do I have to do while it's running?
The project runs itself and you need do nothing except log into Windows as you already do.
Please don't leave your computer on more than you normally do – that's a waste of electricity. See also Is the whole process free?
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Does it run whenever my computer is switched on or just when I'm not using it?
The project runs as a background (low priority) application all the time you are logged into Windows. Other programs you use will get first call on your computer's processing power.
When your computer is on and logged in but idling, the project simulations will run at a faster rate than when you are using it for word-processing, games or surfing the Internet.
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Must I leave my computer connected to the Internet?
No. The project will try to communicate with the central servers daily but can continue even if that's not possible.
Most broadband Internet connections are always on so this is seldom an issue.
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My computer is using 100% of its CPU power and the fan's on full – is that OK?
The climate model is a complex program and takes as much processing power as you have to spare. Under such conditions, it's normal for the cooling fan to run more than usual and perhaps even continuously.
The risk of overheating is minimal. If you are at all concerned (or even if just dislike the noise):
- You can 'suspend' the project via the Tasks pane of the Project Manager and 'resume' it later.
- You can adjust the settings so it only runs between certain hours or when you are not using the PC
- You might like carefully to vacuum clean the fan intake to improve air flow.
If the project badly affects your normal use of the computer, read the advice in – Can I pull out of the project any time?
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Is the project a screensaver?
The project is just a number-crunching application. It runs in the background all the time you are logged in.
The download also installs a screensaver on your computer that will appear on your screen if the mouse and keyboard go unused for a few minutes.
The screensaver is independent of the project application and you can choose to remove or replace it (just like any other Windows screensaver) without affecting your project results.
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What does the screensaver show?
A spinning globe will appear reflecting the climate your computer has calculated for your Earth at the point you have reached in the timescale, somewhere between the date 01 April 2000 and 01 April 2001.
You can set options to show surface temperature, precipitation, snow cover, sea-level pressure and three types of cloud. You can adjust your view of the globe to hover above a particular line of latitude. See also – See your climate model working.
Other information in the display shows your progress through the project.
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Can I view the spinning globe without waiting for the screensaver to appear?
Yes, you can do this in two ways:
- Preview your screensaver as you would any Windows screensaver, for example by right-clicking on the main desktop and selecting 'Properties'.
- Alternatively, the Project Manager software allows you to view the graphics at any time, through an option in its Work tab. To launch the Manager, find it in the Programs section of the Windows Start Menu.
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Where can I get more information about the spinning globe?
For more help viewing, altering or interpreting the different modes of the spinning globe see – See your climate model working.
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My spinning globe suddenly looks very different – what should I do?
There are several display modes for the spinning globe. You can recognise yours on this page – See your climate model working.
There is also a help mode accessed by typing H in the visualization window, which gives a list of options.
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My password-protected screensaver is just black – is this normal?
Yes, unfortunately. You don't get graphics with a password-protected screensaver due to how Windows security works. Your best bet is to use a blank screen as your screensaver. You can check your progress through the Project Manager, see option 2 in – Can I view the spinning globe without waiting for the screensaver to appear?. In fact, not using the spinning globe screensaver will actually speed up your progress.
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How seconds per TimeStep (s/TS), trickles, credits etc..?
The speed at which your computer can perform model simulations is most easily measured by the number of real-time seconds taken to compute a single TimeStep of simulation, or 'seconds per TimeStep (s/TS)'. Each TimeStep equals 10 minutes of model simulation. An individual's s/TS is affected by a number of factors - notably, the speed of the computer processor. See this thread on our messageboards for detailed discussion.
At regular intervals during your simulation (every 5 model days = 720 TS), the BOINC software on your computer will contact our servers to inform us of the status of your simulation, including telling us how far the simulation has progressed. This relaying of information is termed a 'Trickle'. The trickles are very small (typically a few Kbytes) and help us (and you!) keep track of your simulation and the general status of the project. Of course, this assumes that you are connected to the Internet at the time of trickle, but if not, BOINC will simply wait until the next time you are connected to send us it's trickle.
We grant 0.1 project credits per TimeStep of model simulation done. These are kept separate from the main climateprediction.net project credits. You can see how many credits you have accumulated from your User page, and see also the Overview of BOINC for an introduction to BOINC project credits.
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4. Ending the project
What happens at the end if I do nothing?
The project will report its final results back automatically and then automatically start a different version of the same climate model, an Earth with slightly different starting conditions. All the research will be useful to the project scientists.
You can opt out of second and subsequent project simulations by 'detaching' from the project. See next answer – Can I pull out of the project at any time?
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Can I pull out of the project at any time?
Yes, although doing so will slightly inconvenience the research. Please do not start unless you are reasonably confident you will be able to let the project simulation run to completion. (See –
Is my computer suitable? and How long will it take to run on my computer?)
If you do decide to end your project before it finishes, please 'detach' from the project by running the BOINC Manager (from your Start Menu, go to BOINC->BOINC Manager) and clicking the Detach button (reached via the Projects tab).
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Can I uninstall the project software entirely?
Yes. It is not essential but you can do so if you wish.
Please 'detach' from the project first, as explained in the answer above – Can I pull out of the project at any time?
Then go to the Windows Control Panel and follow the Add or Remove Programs option. By default, the program installs to a folder within C:/Program Files
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Can I do another project simulation afterwards?
By default you will anyway. See – What happens at the end if I do nothing?
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5. Background information
Who designed and made the project?
The project was created by the climateprediction.net Seasonal Attribution project team in conjunction with WWF international, using the Met Office climate model.
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How long will this project be active for?
This is is relatively short term project and we expect it to have a lifetime of only a few months. This is because we are investigating the change in a seasonal timescale weather event, as opposed to the change in century timescale climate (see – How is this project different from the other climateprediction.net experiments?).
Our current target number of total simulations is approximately 2,000. You can see how many simulations have been completed so far on the Project status page.
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How is this project different from the other climateprediction.net experiments?
This Seasonal Attribution project is a short term project which aims to answer a different climate change related question: Are extreme weather events like the United Kingdom floods of Autumn 2000 attributable to human-induced climate change? Because we are only investigating the change in a seasonal timescale weather event, as opposed to the change in century timescale, our simulations last only a few weeks, and the project lifetime is only expected to be a few months.
Also, we are using a higher spatial resolution version of the standard climateprediction.net climate model, so that the weather (rainfall, clouds etc.) associated with the flooding is better simulated. See – more about the model.
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What are the participating institutions in climateprediction.net itself?
Climateprediction.net is a consortium of research organisations, led by the University of Oxford, and including The Met Office, The University of California - Berkeley, The London School of Economics, The Open University, The University of Reading and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The project has been funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council's and UK Department of Trade and Industry's e-Science programmes, the NERC COAPEC thematic programme and the NERC Atmospheric Science and Technology Board. Additional financial and in-kind support is acknowledged from The University of Oxford Department of Physics, Oxford University Computing Services, and The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. For more information about the participating organisations and sponsors see the project web site.
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Are you encouraging companies to get involved?
No. We are asking people to donate spare computer power and Internet bandwidth to a good cause. We are not encouraging people to install programs on computers they do not own.
A company that chooses to let its employees install the project can certainly do so. It should first assess the impact on bandwidth of them using this download and trickle up system. Individually, the bandwidth used will be negligible, but scaled up to a corporate network, it might become noticeable. Companies with limited network bandwidth may decide not to allow this.
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