ABSTRACT

Dynamic visualization of multidimensional hydrometeorological data is vital for decision-makers to catch situational awareness and command an emergency response in natural disasters. Nevertheless, few software tools can comprehensively visualize hydrometeorological data in different scales, dimensions, and time. In this paper, an interactive 4D spatio-temporal visualization system based on a virtual globe is proposed. Voxel-based data model and multi-level index are adopted to organize the field data in a unified data structure. Meanwhile, it is resampled in both spatial and temporal dimensions in memory to prepare smooth data stream for rendering. Ten field models, including large-scale volume rendering and adaptive streamline rendering, are accelerated and integrated to display the field data collaboratively. The profile analysis and eddy tracking improve user experience in interactively exploring specific scenes. The system is tested against both large-scale meteorological data in the atmosphere and small-scale hydrological data at the surface, using typhoon landfall and riverine flood, respectively. The results demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the system to dynamically visualize hydrometeorological data.

摘要

多维水文气象数据的动态可视化对于决策者们掌握态势感知并在自然灾害中做出紧急响应至关重要。但是，很少有软件工具可以全面可视化不同规模，尺寸和时间的水文气象数据。本文提出了一种基于虚拟地球仪的交互式4D时空可视化系统。采用基于体素的数据模型和多级索引将现场数据组织为统一的数据结构。同时，它在内存中的空间和时间维度上都进行了重新采样，以准备用于渲染的平滑数据流。十种现场模型（包括大规模体绘制和自适应流线渲染）得到加速和集成，以协同显示现场数据。轮廓分析和涡流跟踪可改善在交互式浏览特定场景中的用户体验。分别使用台风登陆和河流洪水，针对大气中的大规模气象数据和地表的小型水文数据对系统进行了测试。结果证明了该系统动态可视化水文气象数据的适用性和效率。