In today’s world, where data collection and storage are constantly expanding, companies and engineers are working to find alternative methods to traditional ways of storing data. Recently, there has been an increase in both discussion and implementation of underwater data centers.
Microsoft launched its first underwater data center, Project Natick, off the coast of Scotland in 2018, about 117 feet deep. The company monitored the data center for a few years until it ended in 2024, when Microsoft reported it was no longer active (Moss). Along with Microsoft, companies such as Network Ocean, Subsea Clouds, and Highlander have also been working to provide or implement underwater data centers (Borgini). However, this development has sparked conversations about the environmental impact of these centers.
Many online news articles claim that underwater data centers are environmentally friendly because they use seawater and the ocean’s natural cooling to dissipate heat (Tozzi). Furthermore, when reviewing academic journals on the impacts of underwater data centers, the majority of papers focus on ways to efficiently reduce temperatures. However, an examination of seawater cooling and its underlying logic reveals alternative perspectives that suggest underwater data centers could be extremely harmful to the environment over an extended period.
In 2008, climate expert Dr. Rebecca Lindsey wrote an article titled “Correcting Ocean Cooling.” It describes Josh Willis, an oceanographer at NASA, and his journey to realizing that the oceans are not cooling but are instead “absorbing more than 80% of the heat from global warming” (Lindsey). Furthermore, the heat absorbed in this process is never fully dissipated; it is simply relocated and later contributes to warming the planet for decades after being absorbed. With the heat already in the ocean, studies estimate that ocean warming accounts for about 93% of the increase in the Earth’s stored heat from 1971 to 2010. Of that 93%, approximately 63% is attributed to the upper oceans, with the remaining 30% coming from depths of 700 meters down to the ocean floor (Rhein). Along with overall global warming, ocean warming has had extremely harmful impacts on both the environment and the oceans.
Ocean warming is a major issue for both the environment and humans. The heat causes water to expand, directly contributing to roughly one-third to one-half of the global sea level rise. Additionally, thermal expansion has been linked to intensified hurricanes, such as those we have seen recently. Meanwhile, marine biospheres are even less equipped to handle these changes, leading to coral bleaching and ecosystem disruptions where food and shelter for marine life are destroyed (“Ocean Heat Content”). While this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, the focus of this piece is solely on data centers.
In general, there would not be a significant environmental impact if only a few centers used the ocean to dissipate heat. For example, an article by Samsung C&T explains that researchers found the heat from this process did not affect the surrounding water environment, as it dissipated immediately into adjacent currents (Samsung C&T Global PR). However, from a long-term perspective, this approach represents a classic tragedy of the commons, since the ocean is not an infinite cooling resource. The more data centers that rely on the ocean for heat dissipation, the greater the cumulative impact on the environment. Even small amounts of residual heat can accumulate over time, contributing to further warming of the planet. While the concept of underwater data centers may seem innovative, the significant environmental consequences must be carefully considered and addressed before such systems are implemented on a larger scale.
