Heat Wave Resilient Systems Architecture for Underwater Data Centers.

Area of Science:

• Environmental science and sustainable computing.
• Marine engineering and data center infrastructure.

Background:

• Non-terrestrial computing platforms, particularly underwater data centers (UDCs), offer potential for low water footprint and high energy efficiency.
• UDCs benefit from low cooling costs but are vulnerable to operational disruptions caused by marine heat waves limiting water availability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a mechanism for detecting marine heat waves and ensuring the continuous functioning of underwater data centers.
• To introduce a Reservoir as a Service (RaaS) model for UDC cooling and a modular form factor for enhanced adoption.

Main Methods:

• Development of a marine heat wave detection mechanism.
• Implementation of water reservoirs for continuous UDC cooling.
• Design of modular UDC components for flexible deployment.
• Investigation into the operational duration of UDCs under various conditions.

Main Results:

• The proposed reservoir system enhances underwater data center operational duration by 5.5-12.3% for 10-epoch marine heat waves and 5.2-11.5% for 15-epoch heat waves.
• The reservoir as a service (RaaS) model provides a viable solution for UDC cooling continuity.
• Modular design approach facilitates UDC development in capital-constrained environments.

Conclusions:

• The proposed reservoir-based mechanism effectively mitigates the impact of marine heat waves on UDC operations.
• The RaaS model and modular design promote the wider adoption and resilience of underwater data centers.
• This research contributes to the development of sustainable and efficient non-terrestrial computing solutions.