Real-time rendering of coastal waters simulation based on water optical properties

Abstract

With the development of visual simulation technology in recent years, digital ocean simulation has garnered significant attention. However, current water simulation methods predominantly focus on ocean surface wave and light effects, with limited consideration of the complex water quality and optical properties inherent to nearshore waters. This paper introduces a comprehensive real-time rendering method for coastal waters, grounded in the optical properties of water bodies. By analyzing the formation mechanism of water color and integrating a bio-optical model, a parameterized simulation model is established. This model enables accurate real-time simulation of color values at any point on the water surface and underwater. The method achieves an average running frame rate of 101.5 FPS while handling scenes with over 1.2 million triangles, underscoring its high computational efficiency and real-time performance. Comparative analysis with existing models reveals that this approach not only accounts for water quality parameters, such as chlorophyll, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and suspended particles, but also extends simulations to both surface and underwater environments. Experimental results indicate that the model attains a high degree of realism in replicating diverse coastal water settings, with color accuracy within ±5 % of measured values. This represents a substantial enhancement in accuracy and real-time performance over previous models, which often neglect real-time underwater simulations. The proposed method offers a more precise and efficient solution for visualizing intricate coastal water environments.