ThermaTrace

The problem we are trying to solve is to monitor Cooling Water Discharges in the Netherlands. We aim to identify the root cause of abnormal temperature changes in water bodies, particularly those linked to data centres.

Current monitoring approaches rely on a combination of satellite data and sparse in-situ sensors (e.g., sea surface temperature sensors). However, these methods suffer from low spatial resolution and lack the ability to clearly attribute temperature anomalies to specific facilities.

While high-resolution private satellite data exists, it is often costly and not scalable, making continuous monitoring impractical.

Our solution combines targeted in-water sensors with satellite-based thermal data to create a high-resolution, real-time monitoring system. Sensors are strategically deployed near potential heat-generating sources (e.g., data centers, power plants), capturing localized temperature changes.

This real-time data is then compared with simulated baseline conditions derived from satellite observations and modeling, allowing us to detect anomalies and link them to specific sources with higher confidence.

Team members: 

• Ajay Tiwari: Phd & Strategy
• Scarlett Li: Business Strategy & Product
• Diep Pham: Software Engineer
• Derk Blom: Phd & Software Engineer
• Ziang Wu: Data & Software Engineer
• Pixie Zhang: Legal