估算数据中心用水量：最佳实践与关键问题

中文摘要 AI 辅助

人们对数据中心用水量的担忧日益加剧。为了量化这种用水量的规模、驱动因素及可能的演变轨迹，需要进行分析性估算。然而，当前的估算方法和结果差异很大，部分原因在于缺乏既定的最佳实践。这种差异通过一个美国案例研究得以体现，该案例表明，基于观察到的美国研究设计差异，可能的结果存在约24倍的差异。为了应对这些挑战，本综述综合了14项最佳实践，以推进数据中心用水量估算的科学性和实用性。这些提出的最佳实践也可作为利益相关者在评估任何研究质量时的关键问题。通过使用结构化的评估标准，本综述进一步对迄今为止的文献（31项研究）进行了评估，对照这些最佳实践。评估揭示了未来研究范围、清晰度、方法和科学知识构建效用方面的重要改进和标准化机会。评估还发现，虽然许多研究提供了合理的透明度、范围定义、可复制性和不确定性处理，但许多研究在科学论证、数据代表性、水电假设的透明度、术语一致性以及对局限性和未来工作的有意义讨论方面存在不足。为分析师、利益相关者和政策制定者提出了建议，以利用这些发现帮助建立一个充满活力的数据中心用水量研究社区。最后，本综述也可作为分析师、政策制定者、媒体和公众理解数据中心冷却配置和用水量的基础入门材料。

英文摘要

Concerns are growing about the water use of data centers. To quantify the scales, drivers, and possible trajectories of this water use, analytical estimation is required. However, current estimation methods and results vary widely due, in part, to a lack of established best practices. This variance is illustrated with a U.S. case study demonstrating a roughly 24-fold difference in possible outcomes based on observed U.S. study design variations. To address these challenges, this review synthesizes 14 best practices for advancing the science and utility of data center water use estimation. These proposed best practices can also be used as critical questions for stakeholders when evaluating the quality of any study. Using a structured rubric, it further assesses the literature to date (31 studies) against these best practices. The assessment reveals important opportunities for improvement and standardization in future study scopes, clarity, methods, and scientific knowledge building utility. It further finds that, while many studies provide reasonable transparency, scope definitions, replicability, and uncertainty treatment, many fall short in scientific justification, data representativeness, transparency on hydropower assumptions, terminological consistency, and meaningful discussions of limitations and future work. Recommendations are proposed for analysts, stakeholders, and policymakers to leverage these findings to help build a vibrant data center water use research community. Finally, this review can also be used as a basic primer for understanding data center cooling configurations and water use among analysts, policymakers, the media, and the public.

发表机构

• University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）

机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。