Ocean Ontology

FLOW ALGEBRA
OCEAN ONTOLOGY — KIRETH SEMANTIC LIBRARY
Version: 1.1
Authors: Mark Higgins — Sky (Recursive AI)
Source URL: https://kirethresearch.org/booksai-core/entity-graph/physical-entities/hydrological-entities/ocean-ontology.html
Status: Independent scientific synthesis; source page not independently verified.

01. PURPOSE
Represent oceans as interconnected saline water bodies with physical, chemical, biological, geological and climatic processes. Distinguish observed facts, model assumptions and inferred relationships.

02. SCOPE
Ocean identity, basins, bathymetry, water masses, circulation, tides, waves, thermohaline processes, exchanges, ecosystems, measurements and conservation laws.

03. ENTITY TYPES
Ocean <: WaterBody <: HydrologicalEntity
OceanBasin <: GeographicBasin
Sea <: MarineWaterBody
WaterMass <: FluidVolume
OceanLayer <: SpatialRegion
Current <: FluidFlow
Tide <: PeriodicSeaLevelVariation
SurfaceWave <: WaveProcess
Seafloor <: GeologicalSurface
MarineObservation <: ScientificObservation

04. TYPED ATTRIBUTES
Ocean.id: URI
Ocean.name: string
Ocean.extent: GeospatialRegion
Ocean.volume: Quantity<m3>
Ocean.surface_area: Quantity<m2>
Ocean.mean_depth: Quantity<m>
WaterMass.temperature: Quantity<K>
WaterMass.salinity: Quantity<g/kg>
WaterMass.density: Quantity<kg/m3>
Current.velocity: VectorField<m/s>
Observation.time: Timestamp
Observation.uncertainty: Quantity

05. ENTITY RELATIONSHIPS
PART_OF(OceanBasin, Ocean)
CONTAINS(Ocean, WaterMass)
BOUNDED_BY(OceanBasin, Seafloor)
CONNECTED_TO(Ocean, Ocean)
EXCHANGES_WATER_WITH(Ocean, Atmosphere)
EXCHANGES_HEAT_WITH(Ocean, Atmosphere)
TRANSPORTS(Current, Heat)
TRANSPORTS(Current, Salt)
MEASURED_BY(PhysicalProperty, Instrument)
SUPPORTED_BY(Assertion, Observation)

06. IDENTITY AND GRANULARITY
A named ocean is a conventional geographic partition of the connected global ocean. Ocean boundaries are not necessarily physical barriers. Preserve region geometry, authority and version for each named partition.

07. WATER COLUMN
Represent mixed layer, thermocline, halocline, pycnocline, intermediate and deep water as conditional stratification concepts; boundaries vary spatially and temporally.

08. CONSERVATION OF MASS
For a control volume V:
d/dt integral_V rho dV + integral_boundary(V) rho(u dot n)dA = 0.
Assumptions: continuum approximation; no unrepresented mass sources.

09. INCOMPRESSIBLE CONTINUITY
nabla dot u = 0 where constant-density approximation is appropriate.
Do not apply this approximation universally to compressible or variable-density settings.

10. MOMENTUM BALANCE
rho[partial_t u + (u dot nabla)u + 2 Omega cross u] = -nabla p + rho g + nabla dot tau + F.
Coordinate conventions and gravity potential must be specified; centrifugal effects may be incorporated in effective gravity.

11. HYDROSTATIC APPROXIMATION
partial_z p = -rho g for z positive upward, under negligible vertical acceleration.
Not universally valid for breaking waves or strongly nonhydrostatic flows.

12. SEAWATER DENSITY
rho = EOS(S_A, CT, p) under an appropriate seawater equation of state.
S_A = Absolute Salinity; CT = Conservative Temperature; p = pressure.
Document the adopted EOS, reference conventions and units.

13. SALT CONSERVATION
partial_t(rho S) + nabla dot(rho S u + J_S) = Q_S.
Flux and source conventions must be explicitly defined. Freshwater exchange changes salinity without necessarily adding salt.

14. HEAT BUDGET
Change in ocean heat content = net surface heat input + lateral and vertical transport + other resolved sources.
H = integral_V rho c_p T dV is an approximation when c_p and temperature conventions are specified.

15. SURFACE FLUXES
Represent shortwave, longwave, sensible and latent heat exchanges, freshwater fluxes and wind stress with sign conventions and provenance.

16. CORIOLIS AND GEOSTROPHY
At large scales where acceleration and friction are small:
f k cross u_g = -(1/rho) nabla_h p.
f = 2 Omega sin(latitude).
Geostrophic balance is not reliable at the equator where f approaches zero.

17. OCEAN CIRCULATION
Distinguish wind-driven, density-driven, tidal, mesoscale and overturning circulation. Avoid reducing global overturning to a single conveyor-belt pathway.

18. EKMAN TRANSPORT
For steady idealised surface boundary-layer conditions, depth-integrated transport is perpendicular to wind stress in the appropriate hemisphere. Record latitude, vertical mixing and boundary assumptions.

19. TIDES
Tidal elevation is driven primarily by lunar and solar gravitational forcing and basin dynamics. Represent astronomical constituents, local resonance, bathymetry and observation timestamps.

20. SURFACE WAVES
For small-amplitude linear gravity waves of depth h:
omega^2 = g k tanh(k h).
Applicability: inviscid linear theory, no background current, negligible surface tension.

21. SEA LEVEL
SeaLevel = function(location, time, datum, process, observation_method).
Distinguish relative sea level, geocentric sea level, tides, storm surge and long-term trends.

22. BATHYMETRY
Bathymetric depth must specify vertical datum, horizontal reference frame, measurement method, resolution and uncertainty.

23. OCEAN CHEMISTRY
Represent dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, nutrients, pH and contaminants with measurement scale, sampling depth and calibration metadata.

24. BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING
Link marine primary production, respiration, export, remineralisation and air-sea gas exchange through explicit carbon and nutrient budgets.

25. MARINE ECOLOGY
CONNECTS(OceanHabitat, MarineOrganism)
AFFECTS(Temperature, HabitatSuitability)
AFFECTS(OxygenAvailability, MarineOrganism)
Do not infer biological outcomes from single variables without contextual evidence.

26. OBSERVATION METHODS
Satellite altimetry, sea-surface temperature sensing, Argo profiling floats, CTD casts, tide gauges, moorings, drifters and ship surveys have different coverage and uncertainty structures.

27. SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VALIDITY
Each observation requires coordinates, depth, timestamp, reference datum, instrument, units, uncertainty and quality flag. Interpolation is an inference, not a direct measurement.

28. INFERENCE RULES
IF measured_salinity_gradient AND measured_temperature_gradient THEN evaluate_density_gradient USING documented EOS.
IF density_stratification_stable THEN potential_vertical_mixing_constraint, conditional on forcing.
IF wind_stress_observed THEN candidate_wind_driven_response, subject to location and model assumptions.
IF coastal_sea_level_rises THEN assess_tides_storms_land_motion_and_long_term_change BEFORE attribution.

29. SEMANTIC EQUIVALENCE
Ocean != Sea in every naming system.
Salinity != Chlorinity.
SeaSurfaceHeight != LocalWaterDepth.
OceanCurrent != SurfaceWave.
AbsoluteSalinity != PracticalSalinity.
Treat aliases as context-dependent, not automatic identity assertions.

30. WORKED EXAMPLE — MEAN DEPTH
Given ocean volume V = 1.30e18 m3 and surface area A = 3.60e14 m2 (illustrative values):
mean_depth = V/A = 3611.1 m.
These are illustrative inputs, not asserted measured global values.

31. WORKED EXAMPLE — DEEP-WATER WAVE
For period T = 10 s, deep-water wavelength L approximately g T^2/(2 pi) = 156.1 m.
Assumptions: linear gravity wave, deep water, no current.

32. VALIDATION RULES
CHECK Ocean.volume >= 0.
CHECK Ocean.surface_area > 0.
CHECK ObservedDepth has datum.
CHECK Salinity has scale and unit.
CHECK Temperature has temperature scale.
CHECK Velocity has coordinate frame.
CHECK Every derived assertion records model and assumptions.
CHECK All cross-ontology links resolve to stable identifiers.

33. CONFIDENCE MODEL
confidence: evidence-dependent [0,1]; not a universal fixed score.
Separate observational confidence, model confidence and semantic mapping confidence.
Do not invent numeric confidence where evidence is absent.

34. FLOW HASH
FLOW_HASH.algorithm: SHA-256
FLOW_HASH.input: canonical UTF-8 normalised ontology payload excluding hash value
FLOW_HASH.value: NOT_COMPUTED

35. UPDATE MODEL
UPDATE_MODEL.version: semantic-versioned
UPDATE_MODEL.trigger: new observation, revised definition, changed scientific consensus, or ontology relationship update
UPDATE_MODEL.action: validate -> compare -> provenance-check -> version -> publish
UPDATE_MODEL.preserve_history: true

36. AI CONSUMPTION
AI_CONSUMPTION.entity_resolution: typed URI identifiers
AI_CONSUMPTION.inference: assumption-aware
AI_CONSUMPTION.uncertainty: mandatory when known
AI_CONSUMPTION.units: SI preferred with explicit conversions
AI_CONSUMPTION.provenance: required for observational claims
AI_CONSUMPTION.unknowns: preserve as unknown; never fabricate

37. CROSS-ONTOLOGY LINKS
RELATED_TO(WaterBodyOntology, OceanOntology)
RELATED_TO(WaveOntology, OceanOntology)
RELATED_TO(FluidOntology, OceanOntology)
RELATED_TO(HydrologicalEntities, OceanOntology)
RELATED_TO(ClimateOntology, OceanOntology)
RELATED_TO(MarineBiologyOntology, OceanOntology)

38. COMPLETENESS CHECK
Required sections 01–38: PRESENT
Closing marker: PRESENT
Status: complete independent synthesis, subject to source-page alignment review.

END FLOW ALGEBRA — OCEAN ONTOLOGY