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Mixed-precision GPU acceleration brings radiative transfer closer to exascale

A new paper resulting from work carried out within ESiWACE3 is now available online in the proceedings of EuroHPC User Days 2026.

“Mixed-Precision GPU Acceleration of RTE-RRTMGP-CPP: Towards Radiative Transfer Simulations on Exascale Supercomputers” investigates how mixed-precision computing can be combined with GPU acceleration to improve the performance of RTE-RRTMGP-CPP, a radiative transfer code used in weather and climate modelling.

Radiative transfer calculations are an important component of Earth system models, but they can also represent a significant computational cost. As climate and weather simulations move towards higher resolutions and increasingly demanding configurations, improving the efficiency of these calculations is essential.

The paper explores the use of different numerical precisions in RTE-RRTMGP-CPP on GPUs, with the aim of reducing computational costs while maintaining the accuracy required for scientific simulations. The work contributes to ongoing efforts to make weather and climate modelling workflows ready for the next generation of high-performance computing, including exascale systems.

The paper is authored by Stijn Heldens, Alessio Sclocco, Gijs van den Oord, Ben van Werkhoven, Chiel van Heerwaarden, Erwan Raffin and Xavier Yepes-Arbós.

Gijs van den Oord, from the Netherlands eScience Center, will present the work in person at EuroHPC User Days 2026, offering an opportunity to learn more about the approach and discuss its potential for future weather and climate simulations.

📄 Read the paper: Mixed-Precision GPU Acceleration of RTE-RRTMGP-CPP: Towards Radiative Transfer Simulations on Exascale Supercomputers

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