Meet us at the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society Conference 2023

The MetOcean Solutions team is presenting at the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society Conference 2023 this week. Running from 26-28 June in Wellington, the event is hosted by Victoria University of Wellington, and gathers specialists and industry leaders to lift the lid on marine challenges through state-of-the-art technologies and world class science.  

Moana Hindcast - A 25-Year Hydrodynamic Hindcast Model of New Zealand Waters. Find out more at https://www.moanaproject.org/hindcast

MetOcean’s Research and Development Science Leader, Dr Joao de Souza, will be chairing the special session on the Moana Project on the morning of 27 June. His talk will open the session by presenting the Moana Project journey, giving a retrospective view of the work developed over the last 5 years. 

“The Moana Project successfully brings together a team of 60 people to produce cutting-edge science and technology, historical and new data and indigenous knowledge to fill major gaps in our ocean knowledge," says Joao. “My talk focuses on the main operational outcomes, highlighting the value of an end-to-end system approach in the research project. It sets the scene for the subsequent talks that will dive into the details of the scientific results.”  

Later, in the Moana Project session, Dr Malene Felsing is presenting “Monitoring research impact – the Moana Project experience”. Her talk presents how the Moana Project ensured benefits were delivered to project stakeholders through a targeted impact monitoring approach.  

“The Moana Project has a strong applied component and involves a lot of stakeholders,” says Malene. “We created a Whai Hua – Benefits Received workstream that established an impact mapping and monitoring framework, co-created with stakeholders through a series of investment logic mapping workshops. It generates a more rounded and stakeholder-focused picture of the true impacts and will continue beyond the end of the project.” 

The Moana Project special session also includes the presentation of PhD students involved in the programme, including Mireya Montaño’s talk on “Hydrodynamic and behaviour parametrization effects on modelled coastal connectivity”. Mireya’s PhD project focused on coastal processes in the Bay of Plenty, and provided insight into the coastal circulation, dispersion, and connectivity using a continental shelf-resolving regional model. 

Examples of MetOceanTrack particle dispersion.

In the Microalgal research and biological oceanography session on Wednesday, 28 June, MetOcean’s Tactical Account Executive, Dr Stine Sorensen, is presenting on “Particle drift prediction tool to assist marine ecological studies”. Her talk focuses on the application of the particle drift prediction tool “MetOceanTrack”, which was developed as part of the Moana Project and can simulate the movement of different types of particles in the ocean. 

“In marine ecological studies, it is often necessary to test hypotheses related to the movement of particles in the ocean,” says Stine. “MetOceanTrack uses OpenDrift and integrates high-resolution wind, wave, and hydrodynamic models. It allows researchers to better understand how these particles move through the ocean, which can help predict their potential impact on marine ecosystems.” 

MetOcean Solutions is excited to be part of such an important event in Aotearoa’s science calendar. Read more about the conference here.