Number 1 Handling Mega Amounts of Data is a Big Challenge Atmospheric modeling, ocean simulations and fluid dynamics produce immense amounts of data. The supercomputer output from large scientific simulations can range from 100 megabytes to tens of gigabytes. As one of the first ten employees hired at NCSA, Mihalas gained experience during startup operations. Data storage systems are like attics and garages - we save interesting stuff in these places until there's no more room for stuff.
Researchers save data if it's interesting, valuable, or time-consuming to produce.
System designers establish procedures to handle and store scientists' data. Finding uniform terminology to describe aspects of data sets from various disciplines is a challenge.