Perpetual Ocean

  • Released Monday, August 15, 2011
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This visualization shows ocean surface currents around the world during the period from June 2005 through December 2007. The visualization does not include a narration or annotations; the goal was to use ocean flow data to create a simple, visceral experience.

This visualization was produced using model output from the joint MIT/JPL project: Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II or ECCO2. ECCO2 uses the MIT general circulation model (MITgcm) to synthesize satellite and in-situ data of the global ocean and sea-ice at resolutions that begin to resolve ocean eddies and other narrow current systems, which transport heat and carbon in the oceans. ECCO2 provides ocean flows at all depths, but only surface flows are used in this visualization. The dark patterns under the ocean represent the undersea bathymetry. Topographic land exaggeration is 20x and bathymetric exaggeration is 40x.

This visualization was shown at the SIGGRAPH Asia 2012 Computer Animation Festival.

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Perpetual Ocean is a visualization of some of the world's surface ocean currents.



This video is also available on our YouTube channel.

It’s often the beauty of a visualization that commands our attention. At first, a visualization may seem more like a wildly imaginative piece of art than a representation of concrete scientific observations. The rhythm of the colors, shapes and motions is so wondrous we don’t expect it to be real, but its realness is actually the most beautiful part of it all. A beautiful visualization invites us to venture to a place of deeper understanding, and a profound appreciation comes with the realization that we can learn from its elegance. Look for: Meaning in swaths of color, processes as patterns

Print resolution still of Gulf Stream

Print resolution still of currents near Southern Africa

Print resolution still of currents near Southern Africa

Print resolution still of the Kuroshio Current

Print resolution still of the Kuroshio Current

Twenty minute version of ocean flows at 30 frames per second. This version does not include the 'speed ups', labels, narration, or soundtrack from Perpetual Ocean.

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/perpetual-ocean.html

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

This page was originally published on Monday, August 15, 2011.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:53 PM EDT.

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