Some people enjoy murder mysteries on a Sunday. Some enjoy corporate intrigue and data center supposition – such as a recent article in C|Net that speculates about a new data center building built by Google in San Francisco.

Something big and mysterious is rising from a floating barge at the end of Treasure Island, a former Navy base in the middle of San Francisco Bay. And Google’s fingerprints are all over it.

It’s unclear what’s inside the structure, which stands about four stories high and was made with a series of modern cargo containers. The same goes for when it will be unveiled, but the big tease has already begun. Locals refer to it as the secret project.

Google did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But after going through lease agreements, tracking a contact tied to the project on LinkedIn, talking to locals on Treasure Island, and consulting with experts, it’s all but certain that Google is the entity that is building the massive structure that’s in plain sight, but behind tight security.

Could the structure be a sea-faring data center? One expert who was shown pictures of the structure thinks so, especially because being on a barge provides easy access to a source of cooling, as well as an inexpensive source of power — the sea. And even more tellingly, Google was granted a patent in 2009 for a floating data center, and putting data centers inside shipping containers is already a well-established practice.

As a librarian, I love the research that goes into the speculation. As a Minnesotan, I wonder if a floating data center would work in a lake – even a lake that freezes over. Or maybe a river is an even better place! Minnesota has made a concerted play to attract  data centers for a few years now. Seems like the former headquarters of flour milling and notorious cold place ought to be able to corner a market here too!