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Cloud computing recently developed into a viable alternative to on-premises systems for executing high-performance computing (HPC) applications. With the emergence of new vendors and hardware options, there is now a growing need to…
The work of astronomers is getting more complex and advanced as the progress of computer development occurs. With improved computing capabilities and increased data flow, more sophisticated software is required in order to interpret, and…
Each day the world inches closer to a climate catastrophe and a sustainability revolution. To avoid the former and achieve the latter we must transform our use of energy. Surprisingly, today's growing problem is that there is too much wind…
We propose a dedicated model to assist with the life cycle analysis of emissions of scientific computing centres. The model takes into account both the embodied carbon and emissions from use, as well as other factors such as data centre…
Quantum computing is a new approach to computation that utilizes superposition, entanglement, interference, and tunneling to solve problems too complex for classical computers. This paper discusses the basic concepts and development of…
The carbon footprint of astronomical research is an increasingly topical issue. From a comparison of existing literature, we infer an annual per capita carbon footprint of several tens of tonnes of CO$_2$ equivalents for an average person…
Computation, the use of a computer to solve, simulate, or visualize a physical problem, has revolutionized how physics research is done. Computation is used widely to model systems, to simulate experiments, and to analyze data. Yet, in most…
Journalists, public policy analysts, and economists have called attention to the growing importance that high-performance and scientific computing have to national security and industrial leadership. As computing continues to power…
The ultimate limits of computation are not just logical, but physical. We investigate the physical resources -- time, energy, entropy, and free energy -- required to perform computational work. We apply the resulting measures of physical…
Nowadays, software is pervasive in our everyday lives. Its sustainability and environmental impact have become major factors to be considered in the development of software systems. Millennials-the newer generation of university…
Astroparticle physics and cosmology allow us to scan the universe through multiple messengers. It is the combination of these probes that improves our understanding of the universe, both in its composition and its dynamics. Unlike other…
I examine the applicability of ecological concepts in discussing issues related to space environmentalism. Terms such as "ecosystem"", "carrying capacity"", and "tipping point" are either ambiguous or well defined but not applicable to…
Astrophysics and cosmology are rich with data. The advent of wide-area digital cameras on large aperture telescopes has led to ever more ambitious surveys of the sky. Data volumes of entire surveys a decade ago can now be acquired in a…
The need and theoretical methods for measuring and reducing CO2 emitted by computing systems are well understood, but real-world examples are still limited. We describe a journey towards green software for a live product running on a public…
The relationship between the thermodynamic and computational characteristics of dynamical physical systems has been a major theoretical interest since at least the 19th century, and has been of increasing practical importance as the…
We estimate the carbon footprint of astronomical research infrastructures, including space telescopes and probes and ground-based observatories. Our analysis suggests annual greenhouse gas emissions of $1.2\pm0.2$ MtCO$_2$e yr$^{-1}$ due to…
For scientific software, especially those used for large-scale simulations, achieving good performance and efficiently using the available hardware resources is essential. It is important to regularly perform benchmarks to ensure the…
Cosmological measurements require the calculation of nontrivial quantities over large datasets. The next generation of survey telescopes (such as DES, PanSTARRS, and LSST) will yield measurements of billions of galaxies. The scale of these…
Following the trend of other safety-critical industries like automotive and avionics, the space domain is witnessing an increase in the on-board computing performance demands. This raise in performance needs comes from both control and…
Many science advances have been possible thanks to the use of research software, which has become essential to advancing virtually every Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) discipline and many non-STEM disciplines…