| 14th of September 2020 |
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| Energy use in astronomy |
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The current issue of
Nature Astronomy considers the
impact of astronomy on climate change. In the lead paper,
Stevens et al. conclude the average Australian astronomer generates at
least 40% more carbon emissions than a typical Australian adult.
Surprisingly, the majority of emissions arise from supercomputing
centres used by astronomers, with the emissions from flying to
conferences, collaborations and astronomical observatories, coming a
distant second. At least 13% of emissions per astronomer are
generated by the operation of Australian observatories, which rely on
a combination of grid, local solar power and diesel for
electricity. The remainder of the assessed emissions are due to home
institution operations, including lighting, heating and cooling, and
local computer usage.
Other papers in the issue include "The ecological impact of high-performance computing in astrophysics" by Zwart, "The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings" by Burtscher et al. "The impact of climate change on astronomical observations" by Cantalloube et al. "An astronomical institute’s perspective on meeting the challenges of the climate crisis" by Jahnke et al. and "Measuring carbon emissions at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope" by Flagey et al. CSIRO's Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) hosts both the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) The isolation of the MRO means it is not connected to mains power, but is powered by a combination of on-site solar photovoltaics and diesel. The image above shows a part of the solar power infrastructure. |