Microsoft Research Provides New Cloud Computing Access to Support Climate Studies

By Steve Lippman, director, Citizenship and Public Affairs

Big Data is becoming an increasingly important tool for helping scientists predict the long-term impacts of climate change, such as the likelihood of extreme rainfall events. In recognition of this and in response to President Barack Obama’s Climate Data Initiative announced last summer, Microsoft Research is launching a special Climate Data award program to offer a set of scientists and decision-makers free access to Windows Azure cloud-computing resources. For more information, this Microsoft Research blog post offers details on the program and other steps we’re taking to support the Climate Data Initiative.