The energy consumption and carbon footprint of the LOFAR telescope

IF 2.7 3区物理与天体物理 Q2 ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Experimental Astronomy Pub Date : 2023-07-06 DOI:10.1007/s10686-023-09901-z

Gert Kruithof, Cees Bassa, Irene Bonati, Wim van Cappellen, Anne Doek, Nico Ebbendorf, Marchel Gerbers, Michiel van Haarlem, Ronald Halfwerk, Hanno Holties, Simone Kajuiter, Vlad Kondratiev, Henri Meulman, Roberto Pizzo, Timothy Shimwell, John Swinbank

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Abstract

The LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a European radio telescope operating since 2010 in the frequency bands 10 - 80 MHz and 110 - 250 MHz. This article provides an analysis of the energy consumption and the carbon footprint of LOFAR. The approach used is a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). We find that one year of LOFAR operations requires 3,627 MWh of electricity, 48,714 m³ gas and 135,497 liters of fuel. The associated carbon emission is 1,867 tCO2e/year. Results include the footprint stemming from operations of all LOFAR stations and central processing, but exclude scientific post-processing and activities. The electrical energy required for scientific processing is assessed separately. It ranges from 1% (standard imaging and time-domain), to 40% (wide field long baseline imaging) of the energy consumption for the observation. The outcome provides a transparent baseline in making LOFAR more sustainable and can serve as a blueprint for the analysis of other research infrastructures.

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LOFAR 望远镜的能耗和碳足迹

低频雷达（LOFAR）是欧洲的一个射电望远镜，自2010年起在10-80 MHz和110-250 MHz频段运行。本文对 LOFAR 的能耗和碳足迹进行了分析。采用的方法是生命周期分析（LCA）。我们发现，LOFAR 运行一年需要 3,627 兆瓦时电力、48,714 立方米天然气和 135,497 升燃料。相关的碳排放量为 1,867 吨二氧化碳/年。结果包括所有 LOFAR 站的运行和中央处理产生的足迹，但不包括科学后处理和活动。科学处理所需的电能是单独评估的。其范围从观测能耗的 1%（标准成像和时域）到 40%（宽场长基线成像）不等。评估结果为提高 LOFAR 的可持续性提供了一个透明的基线，并可作为分析其他研究基础设施的蓝本。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Experimental Astronomy 地学天文-天文与天体物理

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

3.30%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Many new instruments for observing astronomical objects at a variety of wavelengths have been and are continually being developed. Furthermore, a vast amount of effort is being put into the development of new techniques for data analysis in order to cope with great streams of data collected by these instruments. Experimental Astronomy acts as a medium for the publication of papers of contemporary scientific interest on astrophysical instrumentation and methods necessary for the conduct of astronomy at all wavelength fields. Experimental Astronomy publishes full-length articles, research letters and reviews on developments in detection techniques, instruments, and data analysis and image processing techniques. Occasional special issues are published, giving an in-depth presentation of the instrumentation and/or analysis connected with specific projects, such as satellite experiments or ground-based telescopes, or of specialized techniques.