Research from the CLIMATics Research Group at KAUST has received a Best Paper Honorable Mention at IEEE VIS 2026 for the paper “A Task-Driven Framework for Multiscale Ocean Flow Dynamics through Integrated Simulation and Visualization.”

The paper, authored by James Kress, Jithendra Nadimpalli, Shehzad Afzal, Sohaib Ghani, and Ibrahim Hoteit, brings together high-resolution ocean simulation and interactive visualization to support the analysis of complex ocean dynamics.

High-resolution ocean models generate large, three-dimensional datasets that capture processes such as internal-wave generation and propagation, energy transport, and interactions with coastal regions. Understanding these processes can be challenging when working with complex computational grids and multiple time-varying variables.

The research introduces a task-driven visual analytics framework that connects numerical simulation with interactive visualization. The framework reconstructs hybrid ocean-model grids into a continuous 3D representation and combines flow decomposition, volumetric rendering, interactive slicing, and multivariate analysis within a coordinated environment. This enables researchers to explore ocean dynamics from multiple perspectives, including transverse wave propagation, energy-transport pathways, and shoaling-driven mixing.

The work reflects the interdisciplinary approach of CLIMATics, combining ocean science, numerical modeling, high-performance computing, and advanced data visualization to support the understanding of complex environmental systems. The research was conducted within the CLIMATics Research Group at KAUST, in collaboration with the KAUST Visualization Core Lab.

Congratulations to the involved researchers and teams.

The work will be presented at IEEE VIS 2026 in November.

Explore the research: Read the preprint on arXiv