Session

DescriptionRising energy costs and the endeavor to reach net-zero have recently brought energy-efficient high-performance computing back to the forefront. In no application area is this topic more pressing than in Earth system modeling (ESM), which comes at a huge computational expense and where there is a strong moral prerogative to minimize its negative impact. Atmospheric models progress towards cloud-resolving scales requiring Exascale computing while electricity becomes more scarce. Computing centers are being challenged by rising energy budgets while transitioning to dramatically more powerful high-performance computing platforms. Are the ESM and HPC communities doing enough to address these challenges? We have invited four speakers to talk about a wide range of energy and climate footprint perspectives, ranging from the tools needed for energy consumption analysis, to the concrete carbon footprint analysis of high-resolution global simulations on a state-of-the-art computing platform, and finally to the societal obligation we face in our community to lead as role models. While we can highlight our best efforts towards energy efficiency and carbon prudence, we will leave it to the audience to decide if we are living up to our obligation to the planet while still promoting this important research area.