AquaINFRA at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026: Advancing Modular Ocean Modelling in EOSC

This week, AquaINFRA will be represented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026 in Glasgow, where Savitri Galiana (ICATMAR / ICM-CSIC) will present new developments in modular ocean circulation modelling within the AquaINFRA Virtual Research Environment.

The Ocean Sciences Meeting, organised by the American Geophysical Union, is one of the world’s leading gatherings for marine and Earth system science.

Computational Ocean Modelling

Computational ocean models are critical tools for research, forecasting, and operational applications. They allow scientists to simulate ocean dynamics, reconstruct past events, and explore future scenarios. However, their use often requires multidisciplinary expertise in oceanography and software engineering, alongside access to high-performance computing resources.

Within AquaINFRA (a European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) initiative) this work addresses those barriers by developing a modular ocean circulation modelling system fully integrated into the AquaINFRA Virtual Research Environment (VRE) on the Galaxy platform.

A Scalable, Integrated Modelling Chain

Building on experience from projects such as SHAREMED and adapting a forecasting chain developed by ICATMAR, the system is designed for scalability and interoperability.

Key features include:

• A web-based interface enabling users to configure simulations for specific regions and spatial resolutions

• Customisable and connected workflows within the Galaxy-based VRE

• Distributed computing resources provided through AquaINFRA

• Automated retrieval of input data from European open data platforms

• Standardised pre-processing and post-processing routines

• Reduced technical complexity for multidisciplinary users

The modelling framework is based on the MITgcm and is designed to interoperate with land-based hydrological models such as SWAT+ (surface processes) and MODFLOW (groundwater dynamics). This enables improved representation of land–sea interactions.

Supporting Coastal Resilience

A Mediterranean case study demonstrates the system’s potential to enhance understanding of coastal ecosystem dynamics and to strengthen coastal resilience strategies.

By lowering technical barriers and embedding advanced modelling workflows into a user-friendly Virtual Research Environment, AquaINFRA is empowering marine and freshwater researchers across Europe to:

• Access scalable modelling tools

• Integrate cross-domain datasets

• Improve coastal ecosystem assessments

• Support evidence-based decision-making

The presentation will take place on Thursday 26 February, 2026 from 4pm - 6pm in Hall 4.

Stay tuned for updates from Glasgow!