Knowledge of coastal ocean transport processes is vital for predicting human impact on the coastal marine environment. Coastal industry discharges pollutants and nutrients into the ocean, and this has an impact on the coastal marine ecosystem.
To understand and predict such impacts require a high level of understanding of near-shore transport processes and we need coastal ocean circulation models to calculate concentrations and pathways of spreading of discharges.
Coastal data analysis and modeling
"We need to store data that we use to force ocean circulation models. This data is continuously updated through the development of large-scale circulation models.
The amount of data storage will increase as models progress towards higher resolution, and datasets generally become larger."
Ole Anders Nøst, Akvaplan-niva AS
The researchers in Akvaplan-niva collect and analyse data from the coastal environment. They also develop and use high-resolution coastal circulation models as a tool to understand the human impact. The main area of interest is the Norwegian coast, but the researchers also use the ocean models to study the coastal ocean in the Arctic and Antarctic.
High-resolution atmospheric data is added to force the ocean circulations models. Using MPI parallel applications, it is safe to say that the models require lots of calculating resources and the project used 9 million CPU hours in 2020 alone. The large amounts of model data and simulations also need to be safely stored. During a typical run, they produce 100 files of 100 GB each.
Akvapan-niva
Akvaplan-niva is a non-profit research and development institute renowned for its expertise across aquatic environments, with a distinct emphasis on ocean industries. Akvaplan-niva is cultivating science-based solutions, tools, and services to foster sustainable value generation. Our interdisciplinary approach equips us to offer a comprehensive knowledge foundation and guidance to both environmental management and industry stakeholder