Ocean Surface Generation and Rendering

Information

• Publication Type: Master Thesis
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • Rendering and Modeling
• Date: September 2018
• Date (Start): 2007
• Date (End): September 2018
• TU Wien Library:
• Open Access: yes
• First Supervisor:
  • Michael Wimmer
  • Andrea Weidlich
• Keywords: ocean rendering, wave synthesis

Abstract

The synthesis of a believable depiction of the ocean surface is a permanent topic of interest in computer graphics. It represents even more of a challenge for applications which require the real-time display of a water body as large as the ocean. That is because the ocean is a highly dynamic system which combines waves at all scales, ranging from millimetres to kilometres. Moreover, the ocean may be observed from several distances, ranging from close-ups to views which reach the horizon. Thus, we present a framework to generate and render the open ocean in real time, for arbitrary viewing distances and including waves at all scales. We focus our efforts on the geometry of the animated ocean surface, for which we leverage a set of wave spectrum models from oceanographic research. We discuss the intricacies of said models, as well as their fitness for real-time rendering. Moreover, we delineate in detail how to integrate distinct wave spectrum models into a coherent framework, from which one is able obtain believable, consistent and coherent results.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

• Entry in reposiTUm (TU Wien Publication Database)

BibTeX

@mastersthesis{GAMPER-2018-OSG,
  title =      "Ocean Surface Generation and Rendering",
  author =     "Thomas Gamper",
  year =       "2018",
  abstract =   "The synthesis of a believable depiction of the ocean surface
               is a permanent topic of interest in computer graphics. It
               represents even more of a challenge for applications which
               require the real-time display of a water body as large as
               the ocean. That is because the ocean is a highly dynamic
               system which combines waves at all scales, ranging from
               millimetres to kilometres. Moreover, the ocean may be
               observed from several distances, ranging from close-ups to
               views which reach the horizon. Thus, we present a framework
               to generate and render the open ocean in real time, for
               arbitrary viewing distances and including waves at all
               scales. We focus our efforts on the geometry of the animated
               ocean surface, for which we leverage a set of wave spectrum
               models from oceanographic research. We discuss the
               intricacies of said models, as well as their fitness for
               real-time rendering. Moreover, we delineate in detail how to
               integrate distinct wave spectrum models into a coherent
               framework, from which one is able obtain believable,
               consistent and coherent results.",
  month =      sep,
  address =    "Favoritenstrasse 9-11/E193-02, A-1040 Vienna, Austria",
  school =     "Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms, Vienna
               University of Technology ",
  keywords =   "ocean rendering, wave synthesis",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2018/GAMPER-2018-OSG/",
}