Exploring an Oceanic Time Machine of Physical & Biogeochemistry via web API

The Blue Economy

The blue economy refers to activities that utilise and conserve ocean resources, encompassing sectors such as fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, renewable energy, shipping, and marine ecology. The integration of oceanographic data has potential to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and safety of these activities and others like them.

What is Oceanography?

Oceanography is the scientific study of the ocean and its phenomena. This field encompasses the exploration and comprehensive analysis of various aspects of the oceanic environment, including its physical, chemical, biological, and geological attributes. Oceanographers examine the properties and dynamics of ocean waters, the life that inhabits them, and the interactions between the ocean and other parts of the Earth’s system, such as the atmosphere and the seafloor. Not all innovators in the blue economy are oceanographers, however, they could be engineers, entrepreneurs, environmental scientists, marine biologists, economists, policy makers, and technology developers.

Software Innovation in the Blue Economy

Innovations in software can revolutionise the blue economy by enhancing sustainability and operational efficiency sector-wide. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) software aids in allocating marine spaces to balance economic, environmental, and social objectives, while fisheries management tools monitor fish populations and manage fishing efforts. Shipping and port management systems optimise shipping routes and port operations, reducing fuel consumption and emissions savings costs and earning carbon credits. In the realm of renewable energy, planning software requires models of ocean conditions to optimise the placement of turbines for wind, wave, and tidal energy, improving energy output and grid integration. Environmental monitoring tools use satellite imagery and sensor data to protect marine habitats and detect illegal activities, supporting conservation efforts. These software innovations ensure that marine resource management is data-driven, efficient, and environmentally responsible, supporting the sustainable growth of the blue economy.

What is the NEMO Model?

The NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) model is a framework for simulating and forecasting global ocean dynamics, offering access to both historical and forecast three dimensional datasets. It’s a veritable ocean data time machine. These datasets include variables like temperature, salinity, currents, and biogeochemical markers such as pH, chlorophyll, and net primary production, all vital for examining the ocean’s physical state and ecosystem health. Beyond scientific research, NEMO has broad applications, including but not limited to:

1. Maritime Transportation: providing forecasts of ocean currents, sea surface temperatures, and wave conditions can optimise shipping routes to enhance fuel efficiency and safety.
2. Fisheries and Aquaculture Management: modelling the oceanic conditions affecting fish populations can aid in sustainable fisheries management and aquaculture planning.
3. Offshore Renewable Energy: simulating ocean conditions for the installation and operation of energy infrastructure like wind turbines and tidal power stations, optimising location and energy production.
4. Environmental Monitoring and Protection: predicting pollutant dispersal patterns, such as oil spills or plastic debris, enables effective response strategies and marine habitat protection.

Amentum Scientific’s Ocean Web API Refresh

We are pleased to announce the latest update to our Ocean Web API — now making NEMO’s hindcast and forecast physical and biogeochemistry data easily accessible from any programming language that supports HTTP requests. The web API already empowers our customers to build innovative solutions like those mentioned above. With the addition of the NEMO endpoint, we look forward to empowering many more innovators by incorporating ocean data into their software innovations.

Let’s take a quick look at the API’s capabilities. Herein we consider a candidate shipping route between Australia and Japan, calculated by the SeaRoutes API, for a nominal departure date of 22nd April 2024. We then obtain a forecast of the ocean physical and biogeochemistry properties at each waypoint using the updated NEMO endpoint of our API, at a depth of 10 metres, and bathymetry data obtained using the existing GEBCO endpoint. Sidenote: we obtained these properties for a fixed date, we can improve accuracy by assigning correct dates to each waypoint.

Our analysis code was written in Python with help from async_api_caller: our lightweight open source package for efficient asynchronous API calls. Data wrangling is performed using the pandas package, and visualised using the plotly package. The figures below show the route and profiles of NEMO data along that.

Figure: The sample shipping route between Australian and Japanese ports.

Figure: The salinity profile along the route showing a dip at the red marker (corresponding to coordinates shown by the tooltip in the above figure).

Figure: There was no marked change in temperature at the same location as the salinity depression (red dot); however, we did see the expected decrease in sea temperatures as we approach Japan.

Figure: Remarkable fluctuations in sea depth along the route, and the variation in spatial resolution of the GEBCO dataset is evident.

Figure: The approximate location of the dip in salinity observed along the route within the Banda Sea. (Image credit: Google Maps).

The most notable observation above is the depression in salinity in the Banda Sea. Great, who cares? Good question. This may be of interest to those concerned with buoyancy, draft, and ballast management optimisation, which are all affected by salinity.

Why is there a depression? Another good questions. We explore possible causes by creating maps (1/10 of a degree resolution) of the bathymetry, ocean current magnitude, and salinity, for the approximate area of interest. Again, the latter two were retrieved from the new NEMO physical ocean property endpoint of our API.

Figure: Bathymetric map for the area of interest.

Figure: Ocean current magnitudes for the area of interest

Figure: Map of salinity for the area of interest.

There were no obvious correlations between the areas of low salinity and the other properties (current and bathymetry). Let’s hear what our fine-tuned educational tool Oceanography GPT has to say about what can cause lower salinity regions:

Regions of lower salinity in the ocean can arise from several different processes, which are influenced by both natural variations and human activities. Here are some key reasons:

1. Riverine Input: Freshwater from rivers dilutes the seawater, reducing salinity levels, especially near coastlines and estuaries. This is a dominant factor in areas like the Amazon River outflow and the Baltic Sea.
2. Precipitation: Heavy rainfall can significantly decrease salinity levels on the ocean surface. Regions such as the tropics, where intense rainfall is common, can experience lower salinity levels.
3. Ice Melting: The melting of polar ice caps and glaciers contributes fresh water to the ocean, which decreases the salinity. This is especially relevant in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and near glaciers in areas like Greenland and Alaska.
4. Limited Evaporation: In cooler climates, evaporation rates are lower, which can lead to higher freshwater content and thus lower salinity. This contrasts with warm, dry regions where high evaporation increases salinity.

I probably should have crafted that prompt better. It’s safe to say we can rule out possibilities #3 and #4 given the geography. #1 is likely not relevant as no large river deltas are visible on satellite imagery. There were heavy storms in the area on those dates though, which may have reduced the salinity. For now, it remains a mystery, and we will leave in-depth investigations to the budding oceanographers out there.

Whether you are an oceanographer, a data scientist, or software developer needing access to ocean data, if your interest is piqued and you would like to access the NEMO time machine of ocean data, you can sign up for a free trial at our Developer Portal. For those familiar with OpenAPI specifications, you can read those here. Hopefully the API adds value to your projects, products and service offerings. If you continue with a paid plan, the web API is covered by a Service Level Agreement and is built on highly scalable, secure, reliable AWS infrastructure.

Let’s work together to chart a course towards a future where decision-making informed by ocean data leads to a more sustainable and efficient blue economy for all.

Learn more on our website here: https://amentum.io/ocean