Case Study: The Scottish Association for Marine Science speeds coral larvae simulations with Google for Education and Parallel Works

The Scottish Association for Marine Science cuts coral simulation time from two weeks to one hour with Google for Education

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), an oceanographic research institution, faced a significant challenge in processing complex simulations to track coral larvae movements. Using a traditional computer, running various models to estimate how larvae disperse through ocean currents was projected to take weeks. This slow pace hindered vital research into marine biodiversity. To accelerate this work, they partnered with vendor Google for Education, utilizing Google Compute Engine.

The solution implemented by Google for Education, through its partner Parallel Works, involved running massive datasets on 200 nodes concurrently using 6,400 virtual CPUs on Google Cloud. This approach sped up the larval swimming parameter sweep calculation from an estimated two weeks to just one hour. This dramatic reduction in processing time allows scientists to explore many more variables and ask more questions, significantly accelerating the pace of marine research and conservation efforts.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science