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Interactive 3D globe showing SURF ocean modeling deployment regions across the world's oceans, with a satellite-derived sea-surface temperature backdrop for geographical context.
Download SURF and start building high-resolution ocean models today.
SURF is an innovative ocean modeling platform designed to configure, execute, and analyze high-resolution, nested ocean simulations for any region of the global ocean.
By enabling the downscaling of large-scale ocean products to regional and coastal domains, SURF provides the high-spatial resolution needed to capture fine-scale oceanographic processes that are typically unresolved by coarse-resolution models.
Configure high-resolution ocean models anywhere in the world's oceans, reaching resolutions of few hundred meters.
SURF includes two core ocean models. Choose the one that best fits your domain, grid type, and modelling objective.
Structured-grid, finite-difference modelling built around NEMO. Best suited for regional shelf-sea applications.
Unstructured-grid, finite-element modelling built around SHYFEM-MPI. Best suited for complex coastlines, lagoons, estuaries, harbours, and applications requiring flexible mesh refinement.
Follow this path to set up SURF and run your first ocean simulation on a laptop, cloud instance, or HPC.
Skim the requirements and the workflow diagram. Decide whether you want a Docker image, a VirtualBox VM, or to build from source.
Each release ships a tarball you can docker load on x86_64 or ARM64 — or a VirtualBox .ova for a sandboxed environment with everything pre-installed.
Reproduce the Gulf of Taranto or Madagascar Coastal Area downscaling experiment — straight from a curated case-study page with config files, input data and expected outputs.
Comprehensive tools and methodologies for advanced ocean modeling
Integrates two state-of-the-art ocean models: the structured grid model NEMO and the unstructured grid model SHYFEM, offering flexibility for diverse applications.
Multiple nesting schemes: SURF-NEMO reaches hundreds-of-metre spacing in telescoping domains, while SURF-SHYFEM covers coast and shelf transitions on one unstructured mesh without hand-offs between grids.
Complete suite of tools for preprocessing (mesh generation, data download/remapping) and post-processing (visualization, analysis), streamlining your entire modeling pipeline.
Distributed as both Docker and VirtualBox images, pre-configured with all necessary libraries and software.
User-friendly web-based interface under development to simplify model setup, execution monitoring, visualization, and results analysis.
Advanced post-processing capabilities for immediate visualization, validation, and analysis of simulation results.
SURF powers critical applications across marine and coastal domains
Track and forecast oil spill trajectories for rapid response and containment
Enhance rescue operations with reliable high-resolution current forecasting
Improve route planning and navigation safety through detailed ocean fields
Monitor and assess fishery resources with high-quality oceanographic data
Provide forecasts for beach safety and water quality management
Support coastal ecosystem protection and climate adaptation strategies
A structured, automated approach to ocean modeling
Specify input parameters for preprocessing, simulation, and post-processing settings including data sources, time steps, output frequency, and visualization preferences.
Automatic download and preparation of input data:
The selected ocean model executes, producing high-resolution fields in your chosen region with configurable temporal and spatial outputs.
Comprehensive analysis tools to visualize outputs, compare parent/child fields, validate results, and convert datasets for further research.
