Bathymetry Sources
GEBCO
NOAA NCEI Bathymetric DEMs
USGS Coastal Relief Model
Ocean Model Sources
HYCOM
NCOM
ROMS
roms=True flag, which handles ROMS' unique curvilinear grid structure.Atmospheric Data
WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting)
How to Add a New Location
Follow these steps to create a new simulation environment for any ocean location.
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1
Download Bathymetry
Use GEBCO for initial coarse coverage or NOAA NCEI for high-resolution U.S. coastal areas. Select your area of interest and download in NetCDF or GeoTIFF format.
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2
Download Ocean Data
Retrieve ocean model data from HYCOM via OPeNDAP or direct download. Ensure you get temperature, salinity, and current (u/v) variables for your time period of interest.
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3
Create a Bathymetry Object
In ASPENEnvModels, instantiate a Bathymetry object with your lat/lon bounds and local ENU origin point.
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4
Create an OceanModel Object
Set up an OceanModel with variable name mappings, time bounds, and coordinate references. Enable the ROMS flag if using ROMS data.
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5
Voxelize Data for GPU
Run VoxelizeDataUtils to convert bathymetry and ocean data into .nvdb (NanoVDB) files optimized for GPU access during simulation.
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6
Update GLOBAL_PATHS.yaml
Add entries for your new .nvdb files and any source data paths to the global configuration file so ASPEN can locate them at runtime.
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7
Create a Simulation Script
Write a new simulation script or modify an existing example to reference your new environment. Set the origin coordinates and data paths.
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8
Run and Verify
Execute the simulation and confirm that vehicles navigate correctly in the new environment. Check that ocean currents, bathymetry contours, and acoustic propagation behave as expected.
Supported File Formats
| Format | Extension | Description | Use in ASPEN |
|---|---|---|---|
| NetCDF | .nc | Network Common Data Form -- self-describing scientific data | Primary input for bathymetry and ocean model data |
| GeoTIFF | .tiff | Georeferenced raster image format | Alternative bathymetry input |
| ESRI ASCII | .asc | Plain-text grid format for elevation data | Legacy bathymetry input |
| GRIB / GRIB2 | .grib, .grib2 | WMO standard for meteorological data exchange | Atmospheric and some ocean model data |
| OPeNDAP | URL | Remote data access protocol for scientific datasets | Direct streaming from HYCOM and other servers |
| Zarr | directory store | Chunked, compressed array storage for large datasets | WRF atmospheric data in ASPENAssets |
| NanoVDB | .nvdb | Compact GPU-optimized sparse volumetric data | Runtime format -- all data voxelized for GPU |