Large Scale Systems

Efficient oil drilling is just one example of the research areas being focused on by the Large Scale Systems group. While the oil in the earth’s crust is slowly depleting, the oil, which is still available in the oil fields, is becoming increasingly difficult to extract. Where in the past it was enough just to pump water into one source in order to extract it from another, nowadays, this method sometimes only manages to extract around forty percent of the oil. The rest is left behind in the earth. Therefore, the idea is to design ways of injecting the water more efficiently. By simulating the dynamics of the oil field, inverse modelling can be used to provide a wealth of information on the soil structure, which is crucial for effective water injection.

In general, the Large Scale Systems group deals with the mathematical modelling of physical processes which change in space and time. Their work focuses on trying to create more efficient simulations which are then used in ‘parallel computing’, the process of connecting computers in parallel to produce greater arithmetical capacity. A second area of research is inverse modelling, where reverse simulations are used to interpret past events. This is applied to the study of air pollution, for example. By measuring the air pollution in a number of different places, we can use reverse simulations to identify the source of pollution.

A further example of the work carried out by the group is predicting storm tides. With the aid of a model and sea level measurements obtained from satellites, it has been proven possible to predict a storm tide up to six hours in advance. This is a significant margin, since preventative action can still be taken within this time span.

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