The latest articles on DEV Community by William Carne (@william_carne_1332c355841). https://dev.to/william_carne_1332c355841 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4121592%2Feb2d96f2-95ae-4bd0-990c-279782143fc3.png https://dev.to/william_carne_1332c355841 en William Carne Sat, 12 Sep 2026 02:07:10 +0000 https://dev.to/william_carne_1332c355841/building-wakeatlas-ships-shipwrecks-and-ocean-science-on-a-free-cesiumjs-globe-1e62 https://dev.to/william_carne_1332c355841/building-wakeatlas-ships-shipwrecks-and-ocean-science-on-a-free-cesiumjs-globe-1e62 <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fwywp3jscfch644gn6nme.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fwywp3jscfch644gn6nme.png" alt=" " width="800" height="450"></a>I've been building <a href="https://wakeatlas.uk" rel="noopener noreferrer">WakeAtlas</a>, a free maritime exploration site. I wanted to bring information that normally lives in separate catalogues into one place you can explore visually.</p> <h2> What you can explore </h2> <ul> <li>Received AIS vessel positions, with updates on the globe.</li> <li>Shipwreck histories and historic ships.</li> <li>Detailed imagery for selected US ports.</li> <li>Argo profiles showing how ocean conditions change with depth.</li> <li>Copernicus Marine biogeochemistry layers, including oxygen, nutrients and plankton.</li> <li>Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice concentration, with dated comparisons.</li> </ul> <h2> What I've learned building it </h2> <p>The globe uses CesiumJS. One practical challenge has been keeping vessel updates responsive without repeatedly downloading the whole visible fleet. The current approach loads the visible area, then streams changed positions, with ordinary refreshes as a fallback.</p> <p>Another has been avoiding repeated processing and downloads for imagery. The added US port imagery is saved on the server and served as cached map tiles. That lets visitors revisit those areas without triggering another Earth Engine imagery download.</p> <p>Presenting different sources together also means explaining their differences. A model forecast, an ocean profile and a satellite observation may represent different dates and resolutions. The scientific models and observations belong to the credited providers; WakeAtlas is the exploration interface, not a new scientific model.</p> <h2> Try it and tell me what needs work </h2> <p><a href="https://wakeatlas.uk" rel="noopener noreferrer">Open the WakeAtlas globe</a> · <a href="https://wakeatlas.uk/sources" rel="noopener noreferrer">Data sources and credits</a></p> <p>The globe is free to explore without registering. WakeAtlas will remain free to use, with no paywall. Coverage and update times vary by source, and it is for exploration and research, not navigation.</p> <p>I'd welcome feedback on how easily you can find the layers, how the globe performs on your device, and whether the dates and limitations are clear.</p> <p><em>This introduction was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the features we've implemented.</em></p> showdev