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IOS REFERENCE

Merconi — marine life and ocean exploration

Merconi is AnchorQueen's exploration mode: a chart tuned to the living sea

— dive sites, marine-life sightings, ocean conditions, and fishing activity.

Merconi — screenshot pending

What changes

When you enter Merconi:

  • The chart switches to the Merconi Reef Guardian base map — a bright

    • teal-and-cyan palette designed to highlight underwater features.

  • The four exploration layers turn on automatically: marine life, dive

    • sites, fishing watch, and ocean data. The original toggles return when

    you leave the tab.

  • The bottom pill bar becomes the Merconi sub-mode bar:

    • Diving — Discover — Fishing.

    Diving

    A diver-focused preset:

  • Dive sites become prominent on the chart.
  • Marine-life occurrence pins are visible — species you might see in that

    • area, sourced from open biodiversity databases.

  • Fishing-watch heatmaps are hidden so the chart is uncluttered.

    • Use Diving when you are scouting a snorkel spot or planning a dive day.

    Discover (default)

    The Merconi default. Both marine-life pins and ocean-data points are

    shown, alongside Wikipedia articles for underwater geography and

    biodiversity.

  • Tap an article pin to read the entry inline.
  • Tap a marine-life pin to see the species, when it was reported, and a

    • link to the source record.

    Fishing

    Switches the chart to a Global Fishing Watch grid:

  • Heatmap of recent fishing effort.
  • Vessel-type filters at the panel header.
  • Use this to avoid congested fishing areas, or to learn where boats

    • are working.

  • --

    • Technical Engine & Biodiversity Data

    Merconi is designed to turn raw satellite telemetry and global research databases into actionable maps for diving, oceanography, and fishing monitoring.

    OBIS Spatial Indexing

    AnchorQueen packs a compressed, local database of millions of marine species occurrences sourced from the OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System).

    * Spatial Grids: Records are compiled into quad-key spatial indexing grids on the device.

    * Instant Query: Tapping the map runs a low-latency bounds query to return local species counts, sighting histories, and taxonomic classifications completely offline.

    Global Fishing Watch (GFW) AIS Processing

    The Fishing sub-mode overlays commercial fishing activity heatmaps generated by Global Fishing Watch.

    * Behavior Classification: GFW applies deep neural networks (CNNs) and hidden Markov models to raw AIS data streams (analyzing vessel speed, track geometry, and heading fluctuations) to distinguish transit legs from active fishing operations.

    * Gear Identification: The model classifies the specific fishing gear being deployed: longliners (characterized by slow, steady drifting tracks), trawlers (slower speed, high engine load, linear tracks), and purse seiners (tight circular loops).

    * Local Vector Heatmaps: The app downloads these classified grids as low-bandwidth vector layers, rendering density contours in real-time.

    Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) Integration

    For physical oceanography, Merconi streams high-resolution ocean grids compiled every 60 minutes from CMEMS:

  • Sea Surface Temperature (SST): Useful for predicting thermoclines and finding target species for game fishing.
  • Chlorophyll-a Concentration: Highlights phytoplankton blooms and highly productive marine zones.
  • Salinity & Density Currents: Maps oceanic currents (flow speed and direction) to assist in drift diving and route planning.
  • --

    • Step-by-Step Exploration Guidance

    Planning a Dive Day

  • Check the Sea State: Open the Meteo tab to confirm significant wave height ($H_s$) is under your safety margin and wind is offshore.
  • Toggle Diving Mode: Switch the Merconi sub-mode bar to Diving. The base map shifts to Reef Guardian to outline bathymetric structures, highlighting drop-offs.
  • Locate Sites: Tap a dive site icon to view depths, difficulty level, and approach recommendations.
  • Check Biodiversity: Tap nearby OBIS pins to see which marine life (corals, pelagics, kelp) has been observed at the coordinates.

    • Avoiding Active Fishing Zones

  • Switch to Fishing: Change the sub-mode to Fishing.
  • Analyze Heatmaps: Look for yellow-to-red clusters indicating intense commercial trawling or longline activity over the past 48 hours.
  • Filter by Gear: Use the header chips to filter out specific vessel types (e.g. show only Trawlers) to locate clear, open corridors for passage planning.

    • Tips

  • Merconi pairs well with the Meteo tab — ocean conditions

    • and a clear sea state make a real difference for diving or fishing.

  • Marine-life data is community-sourced and not exhaustive — treat it as a

    • curious starting point, not a guarantee.

    If something goes wrong

  • Pins are scarce — community datasets are sparser in some regions; zoom

    • out for context.

  • Fishing heatmap is empty — Global Fishing Watch only publishes recent

    • effort; very recent days may not be in yet.