EnvirVis14
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Item WebGL-based Geodata Visualization for Policy Support and Decision Making(The Eurographics Association, 2014) Lukasczyk, Jonas; Middel, Ariane; Hagen, Hans; Olaf Kolditz and Karsten Rink and Gerik ScheuermannAccessible data visualizations are crucial to reaching a wide audience and supporting the decision making processes. With increasing support of WebGL and the new HTML5 standard, the Internet becomes an interesting platform for visualization and data analysis. In contrast to standalone applications, WebGL-based visualizations are easily accessible, cross-platform compatible, and do not require additional software installation. In this work, we propose a WebGL-based visualization that combines various web technologies to interactively explore, analyze, and communicate environmental geodata. As an application case study, we chose an energy consumption dataset for Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. Our study highlights the power of web visualizations and how they can support decision making in collaborative environments.Item An Interactive Visualization Approach to Explore Mass Variations in the Earth System(The Eurographics Association, 2014) Rawald, Tobias; Sips, Mike; Sasgen, Ingo; Dransch, Doris; Olaf Kolditz and Karsten Rink and Gerik ScheuermannWe present an approach that supports the visual exploration of mass variations in the Earth system in space and time. In close collaboration with geo-scientists, we identified important requirements for our exploration tool. Using a combination of three-dimensional spheres, we enable them to compare the differences between simulated mass variations and the measured gravity field. Since these variations change over time, we developed a tool that allows to navigate the temporal scale. In addition, we supply a mechanism to dynamically activate/deactivate multiple components of the simulation model applied. These features enable scientists to better understand the impact of the individual processes on the measured Earth's gravity field. In this paper, we discuss in detail the geo-scientific requirements and how our tool addresses these requirements.Item Point-Based Rendering of Forest LiDAR(The Eurographics Association, 2014) Simons, Lance; He, Stewart; Tittman, Peter; Amenta, Nina; Olaf Kolditz and Karsten Rink and Gerik ScheuermannAirborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) is an increasingly important modality for remote sensing of forests. Unfortunately, the lack of smooth surfaces complicates visualization of LiDAR data and of the results of fundamental analysis tasks that interest environmental scientists. In this paper, we use multi-pass point-cloud rendering to produce shadows, approximate occlusion, and a non-photorealistic silhouette effect which enhances the perception of the three-dimensional structure. We employ these techniques to provide visualizations for evaluating two analysis techniques, tree segmentation and forest structure clustering.Item Utilizing GeoTemCo for Visualizing Environmental Data(The Eurographics Association, 2014) Jänicke, Stefan; Scheuermann, Gerik; Olaf Kolditz and Karsten Rink and Gerik ScheuermannWe demonstrate the use of the open source library GeoTemCo for the visualization and exploration of geospatialtemporal datasets from environmental sciences. With use cases from biodiversity, climatology and geophysics we investigate the capabilities and limitations of GeoTemCo, which types of research questions can be handled and how the observer is able to gain new insights about the given data.Item Simulating Urban Environments for Energy Analysis(The Eurographics Association, 2014) Weber, Gunther H.; Johansen, Hans; Graves, Daniel T.; Ligocki, Terry J.; Olaf Kolditz and Karsten Rink and Gerik ScheuermannWe present new prototype tools for optimizing building solar energy impacts in urban regions, to enable better real-time control and policy decisions for energy supply and demand response. The concept is demonstrated with a prototype that estimates the amount of direct sunlight available to building surfaces in complex urban landscapes, taking into consideration local weather predictions (via cloud cover simulation). We also calculate partial shadows from visual obstructions, due to their effect on the availability of solar energy and building energy usage. The prototype has the potential to make better day-ahead predictions that can help balance energy supply and demand during peak load hours. This can lead to better strategies for control of heating, air conditioning and alternatives (such as local energy storage in batteries or co-generation) to offset peak energy demand. However, in addition it can be used as a statistical optimization tool for informing local policy decisions related to solar energy incentives and demand response programs. We apply the approach to a prototype calculation on models of a hypothetical city and a section of downtown San Francisco. We briefly discuss optimization opportunities in response to the variability and uncertainty in solar energy for individual buildings in an urban landscape.Item Animation of Clouds Based on the Interpolation of Weather Forecast Data(The Eurographics Association, 2014) Hufnagel, Roland; Held, Martin; Olaf Kolditz and Karsten Rink and Gerik ScheuermannWe present a novel algorithm for interpolating discrete cloud data of numerical weather forecasts over time. The interpolation provides a continuous natural transition of the cloud properties over time intervals of several hours. A diffusion-free advection scheme transports cloud properties through the wind field. The algorithm is designed to be embedded in a rendering loop and provides the basis for employing cloud modeling techniques for creating temporal cloud animations of the future weather.