Data storage

Hot, warm, cold and ice data storage

November 2026

Yvan Le Bras

Olivier Norvez

Scientific and technical coordinator
@PNDB  
@DataTerra  

Animation coordinator
@PNDB  
@DataTerra  
@Theia  

Data lifecycle

Data lifecycle

Table of contents

Table of contents









Context and issues



Hot vs warm vs cold vs ice storage



Carbon impact



Resources

Context and issues

Context and issues

  • Heterogeneity (data types, origin, standards) & diversity of “objects” to be linked together1
  • Loss of information over time2
  • Toward a better open science and reproducibility 3, 4

Context and issues

Hot vs warm vs cold vs ice data storage

Hot vs warm vs cold vs ice data storage

Source : toptechbytes.in

Hot vs warm vs cold vs ice data storage

Table 1: Differences and complementarities between hot and cold data storage1
Aspect Hot Data Cold Data
Access Frequency Frequently accessed Infrequently accessed
Storage Type High-performance storage
(SSDs, in-memory databases)		 Cost-effective storage
(HDDs, magnetic tapes, cloud archives)
Retrieval Speed Fast retrieval required Slower retrieval acceptable
Use Case Real-time transactions, active user sessions, real-time analytics Historical records, backups, archived files
Cost Generally higher due to performance requirements Generally lower due to slower access speeds
Data management Requires optimization for speed and efficiency Focused on long-term storage and cost-efficiency





Hot data and Cold data serve different purposes in data management. Hot data is important for applications requiring fast access and real time processing, but it comes at a higher cost. Cold data, on the other hand, is used for long-term storage and is less costly but slower to access2.

Cold storage

Cold storage

Table 1: Examples of biodiversity and environmental data repositories1
Repository Supporting by Type Disciplinary fields Accepted data (keywords) Embargo Persistent identifier Volume limit
InDoRES CNRS-Ecology, MNHN Thematic & Institutional Ecology, Environment, Bio-archaeology Environmental, ecological and geographical data Yes DOI 2 GB per data set
EaSy Data Data Terra, BRGM Thematic Earth and Environmental Sciences Long tail data from the earth system and environment (example: project issues) Yes
(< 2 yr)		 DOI 5 GB per file, 100 GB per deposit
SEANOE Ifremer Thematic & Institutional Oceanography Georeferenced marine data Yes
(< 2 yr)		 DOI 100 GB
Data SUD IRD Institutional All fields covered by IRD agents ??? ??? DOI ???
GBIF International GBIF community Thematic Life sciences, Biodiversity, Animal biology, Plant biology, Ecology, Environment; Ecosystems Taxa, occurrence data, sampling data, all standardized according to Darwin core or ABCD standards. Yes DOI no
Recherche Data Gouv Recherche Data Gouv Generic All fields All Yes DOI ???

Ice storage in France

Source : DORANum

Hot storage and calculation

Hot storage and calculation

The GAIA Data project aims to develop and implement an integrated and distributed platform of services and data for the observation, modeling and understanding of the Earth system, biodiversity and the environment



 Carbon footprint: ideally, bring the calculation closer to the {meta}data and not the other way around

Carbon impact

Carbon impact

How much energy is used in saving to the cloud? That’s a complicated question. It takes energy to get the data to the data center—miles of fiber optic cables, studded with other fixtures of internet infrastructure that all require power along the way. At the center, your data is stored multiple times on hard disks, and the constant activity of all those disks creates a lot of heat, which necessitates energy-intensive air conditioners to protect the equipment from overheating1.

Various studies estimate them to be between 2.3 and 3.7% of global CO₂ emissions, which is equivalent to the emissions of the entire aviation industry2.

The ecological dynamics we find ourselves in are not entirely a consequence of design limits, but of human practices and choices — among individuals, communities, corporations, and governments — combined with a deficit of will and imagination to bring about a sustainable Cloud. The Cloud is both cultural and technological. Like any aspect of culture, the Cloud’s trajectory — and its ecological impacts — are not predetermined or unchangeable. Like any aspect of culture, they are mutable3.

Carbon impact




Resources

Resources

Cold storage : bonus

When a highly dangerous fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, a former bioterrorism agent is called back into action. Alongside two young employees, he must confront an invisible and out-of-control threat1