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Investment Details

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Investment Description

High performance computing resources are used for weather and climate research in the development and use of sophisticated numerical models to predict and understand atmospheric and oceanic phenomena.
Agency Department of Commerce
Point of Contact Brian Epley - CIO email 202-482-4797
Investment Type Major IT Investments
Bureau National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Mission Support Not Applicable
Shared Service Category Not Applicable
Shared Service Identifier Not Applicable
TMF Initiatives
  • Not Applicable
FY 2025 IT Spending $68.77 M
Current CIO Rating 3
Data As Of: 05/30/2025

Total Projects

7

Cost Variance

  • 7Low
  • 0Medium
  • 0High

Schedule Variance

  • 7Low
  • 0Medium
  • 0High

Cost Variance

  • Low: Projects that have <10% Cost Variance
  • Medium: Projects that have ≥10% and <30% Cost Variance
  • High: Projects that have ≥30% Cost Variance
Cost Variance: ((Planned Total Costs - Projected or Actual Total Costs) / Planned Total Cost) x 100

Schedule Variance

  • Low: Projects that have <10% Schedule Variance
  • Medium: Projects that have ≥10% and <30% Schedule Variance
  • High: Projects that have ≥30% Schedule Variance
Schedule Variance: ((Planned Completion Date - Projected or Actual Completion Date) / Project Duration) x 100

Cost and Schedule Variance color coding is based on absolute values. For example, a +40% variance and a -40% variance are both High/Red.
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Download: Project and Variance Source Data (CSV)
  • This section displays the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Risk ratings for the investment. CIOs rate each investment using a set of pre-established criteria and issue a CIO Evaluation Number that reflects the investment’s ability to accomplish its goals within the current fiscal year. This number ranges from 1 - 5, and the higher it is, the better the investment has been rated to meet its goals.
    Download: Historic CIO Rating Source Data (CSV)
  • The Investment Details section views help answer questions about how an investment's financial resources are being utilized, and which funds are being assigned.
    Download: Investment Spending Details Source Data (XLSX)
  • The IT spending visualization below provides the selected IT investment's spending over 5 fiscal years. The IT Investment's spending is further broken down by Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Development, Modernization, and Enhancement (DME). For each listed fiscal year you will see:
    • Requested amount - The IT $ amount the agency requested from Congress in the President's budget request for that fiscal year.
    • Enacted amount - The IT $ amount Congress actually funded through that fiscal year's appropriation.
    • Actual amount - The IT $ amount the agency actually spent that fiscal year based on what was appropriated by Congress.
    The availability of data for each fiscal year will depend on where in the federal budget process we currently are, and will continue to be updated as the annual appropriations process progresses.

    Download: Investment Spending Details Source Data (XLSX)
  • Project Name Project UID Status Planned Total Cost ($M) Cost Variance (%) Planned Start Date Planned End Date Schedule Variance (%) Schedule Variance (Days) TMF Initiative
    FY21 R&D HPCS O&M 3804M16002 Complete 0 -0.23 0 0 Not Applicable
    FY22 R&D HPCS O&M 3804M16002 Completed 63.1 0 2021-10-01 2022-09-30 0 0 Not Applicable
    FY23 R&D HPCS O&M 3804M16002 Completed 68 0 2022-10-01 2023-09-30 0 0 Not Applicable
    BIL Supplemental Funding - FY 22 Infrastructure IIJA 3804M14012 Completed 80 0 2022-08-01 2024-09-30 0 0 Not Applicable
    DSRA Supplemental Funding - FY22 DIS SUPP PL 117-43 3804M14013 Completed 50 0 2022-05-01 2024-09-30 0 0 Not Applicable
    FY24 R&D HPCS O&M 3013804001 Completed 68 0 2023-10-01 2024-09-30 0 0 Not Applicable
    FY25 R&D HPCS O&M 3013804002 In Progress 68 0 2024-10-01 2025-09-30 0 0 Not Applicable
    LowMediumHigh
    Download: Project Details Source Data (XLSX)
  • Metric Description Performance Measurement Category Unit of Measure Reporting Frequency Agency Baseline Capability Measurement Condition Target 2025 CY Latest Actual Result Date of Latest Actual Result Met Target
    Cost per teraflop of R&D HPC. This includes all of the costs, including hardware, power, facility, and labor. Financial Performance $/TF Annual 7.096 Under target 8 7.5 2024-09-30 MET
    Fairmont HPC System Availability Customer Satisfaction Percentage Monthly 96 Over target 98 99.46 2025-03-31 MET
    Climate: Number of regional scale projections for assessments & decision support Strategic and Business Results Number of Projections Semi-Annual 3 Over target 3 3 2024-09-30 MET
    Climate: Cumulative number of new decadal prototype forecasts and predictions made with high-resolution coupled climate model Strategic and Business Results Number of Forecasts Semi-Annual 3 Over target 3 3 2024-09-30 MET
    Computational Hours made available to users (in Millions) Customer Satisfaction millions of hrs per month Monthly 101.675 Over target 320 570.108 2025-04-30 MET
    HPC Data Availability Strategic and Business Results Percentage Monthly 99 Over target 99 100 2025-04-30 MET
    Improved treatment of key physical processes in climate models aimed at improving: model performance, understanding of uncertainties, and confidence in climate change projections and predictions. Customer Satisfaction Number of improvements Semi-Annual 3 Over target 3 3 2024-09-30 MET
    Percentage uncertainty in possible 21st century sea level rise (0-1m = 100% uncertainty) Customer Satisfaction percentage (%) Semi-Annual 75 Under target 75 75 2024-09-30 MET
    ORNL HPC System Availibility Customer Satisfaction Percentage Monthly 96 Over target 98 99.84 2025-04-30 MET
    Download: Performance Metrics Source Data (XLSX)