{"ID":2861831,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.00471","arxiv_id":"2510.00471","title":"ThirstyFLOPS: Water Footprint Modeling and Analysis Toward Sustainable HPC Systems","abstract":"High-performance computing (HPC) systems are becoming increasingly water-intensive due to their reliance on water-based cooling and the energy used in power generation. However, the water footprint of HPC remains relatively underexplored-especially in contrast to the growing focus on carbon emissions. In this paper, we present ThirstyFLOPS - a comprehensive water footprint analysis framework for HPC systems. Our approach incorporates region-specific metrics, including Water Usage Effectiveness, Power Usage Effectiveness, and Energy Water Factor, to quantify water consumption using real-world data. Using four representative HPC systems - Marconi, Fugaku, Polaris, and Frontier - as examples, we provide implications for HPC system planning and management. We explore the impact of regional water scarcity and nuclear-based energy strategies on HPC sustainability. Our findings aim to advance the development of water-aware, environmentally responsible computing infrastructures.","short_abstract":"High-performance computing (HPC) systems are becoming increasingly water-intensive due to their reliance on water-based cooling and the energy used in power generation. However, the water footprint of HPC remains relatively underexplored-especially in contrast to the growing focus on carbon emissions. In this paper, we...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.00471","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.00471v1","authors":"[\"Yankai Jiang\",\"Raghavendra Kanakagiri\",\"Rohan Basu Roy\",\"Devesh Tiwari\"]","published":"2025-10-01T03:46:58Z","proceeding":"cs.DC","tasks":"[\"cs.DC\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}