State news outlet, China Daily reported
that the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
launched an advanced scientific cloud platform last week to provide scientists
with accessible, accurate and secure data services and drive research and
innovation.
The China Science and Technology Cloud (CSTC), which was
developed at the academy's Computer Network Information Center, draws data from
the academy's research institutes and major scientific installations, as well
as many of China's top universities and private innovation centers. There were over 120 institutions directly
under CAS, as of 2012.
The platform is central to the academy's effort to improve
its data-related services and applications. It also aims to promote data
sharing and transparency.
The CSTC aims to become the go-to platform to satisfy most
data and cloud service needs from scientists and innovators in China. It combines
big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence into a single, massive platform
that will provide data and cloud computing services to researchers.
Applications on the cloud platform are divided into five
broad categories: data resources, cloud computing with AI and supercomputers,
research software support, research community networks and outreach to foreign
scientists and platforms.
The platform already has more than 600,000 registered users
and will continue to improve to satisfy ever-growing research needs.
According to the China Daily article, Liao Fangyu, director
of the information center, said, "We have entered an age in which
scientific discoveries often require crunching a large amount of data. This is
only possible with powerful computing hardware and software. The CSTC will
bolster China's innovation capabilities and help create more original and
influential scientific achievements."
For instance, the cloud platform allows faster and more
accurate climate simulations, due to its data and strong processing capabilities.
Using the platform, scientists can simulate climate change
on a larger scale or across a greater period of time. It also allows
researchers to add data from other related scientific fields, such as marine
science, into the simulation to obtain a more accurate and comprehensive picture.
Thus, the platform could play an important role in improving weather research and
disaster predictions.
Earlier this month, the State Council of the People’s
Republic of China issued
new regulations for improving the management, security, accuracy and openness
of scientific data. The regulations aim to clarify the responsibilities of
officials and scientists who regulate and use the information.