Ocean Sciences with the Spilhaus Projection: A Seamless Ocean Map for Spatial Data Recognition

Area of Science:

• Geosciences
• Oceanography
• Cartography

Background:

• The ocean is crucial for Earth's climate, geology, and human society.
• Existing global map projections often fail to adequately represent the interconnected nature of the world's oceans.
• A specialized ocean-focused map is needed to visualize complex oceanic and seafloor phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of the Spilhaus square projection for oceanographic and geophysical data visualization.
• To present a novel geological perspective of the world ocean as a unified body.
• To highlight the Spilhaus projection's advantages over traditional map projections for ocean-centric data.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the Spilhaus square projection to integrate diverse geological and geophysical datasets.
• Incorporating data layers such as bathymetry, teleseismicity, seafloor geography, and seafloor spreading parameters.
• Comparing the Spilhaus projection with widely-used projections like Mercator and Robinson.

Main Results:

• The Spilhaus projection effectively displays the seamless connection of ocean water masses and surrounding continents.
• Generated maps provide a unique geological viewpoint of the global ocean.
• The projection reveals new insights into seafloor features, ocean processes, and ocean-atmosphere dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The Spilhaus square projection offers a powerful tool for visualizing ocean-oriented data, surpassing traditional projections in certain applications.
• The presented maps can inform research, education, media, and policy decisions related to ocean science.
• Further adoption and exploration of the Spilhaus projection are encouraged for a comprehensive understanding of the world ocean.