Google earth engine app for rapid global assessment of OTEC-Suitable zones

This paper presents the results of developing an application designed on a global scale in Google Earth Engine (GEE) to evaluate suitable areas to implement an ocean thermal energy conversion system in different marine-coastal areas of countries worldwide. The methodology uses freely available cloud-based catalogs of oceanographic data with surface and bottom (1.000?m) water temperatures and velocities. Bathymetric data and proximity to the population determine the selection of these areas. A freely available application is developed that allows users to select the region or country of study and reduce images to composite mosaics by averaging different survey years and selecting weights for each factor. The results show that this type of tool detects specific areas off the continental shelf of the oceans where this type of energy source could be implemented.