We present a system to visualize multiple time-dependent scalar fields defined on 3D surfaces as they arise from numerical simulations. Domain experts want to understand correlations between multiple scalar fields to verify underlying processes. However, existing visualization techniques require high exploration effort to perceive temporal changes and relations of multiple fields on 3D surfaces. This makes analysis time-consuming and carries a high risk of overlooking regions with specific correlations.

Therefore, we introduce a novel concept to facilitate exploration of multiple time-dependent scalar fields simultaneously. The basic idea is to use a novel glyph-based depiction, called skyline visualization, which is inspired by the skyscraper metaphor from information visualization. The skyscrapers are represented by 2D and 3D bar charts, where their floors show the temporal behavior of scalar fields of the corresponding surface region. The user can interact with the skyline visualization to see at which surface areas the scalar fields take on striking values or whether correlations exist between them. Furthermore, the user can immediately see in which regions scalar fields change strongly over time or show strongly inverted behavior. We evaluated our system with several CFD engineers, radiologists and visualization experts. Compared to existing systems, they were able to find regions of interest quickly and with high accuracy.

我们提出了一个系统来可视化在 3D 表面上定义的多个时间相关标量场，因为它们来自数值模拟。领域专家希望了解多个标量字段之间的相关性以验证底层流程。然而，现有的可视化技术需要大量的探索工作来感知 3D 表面上多个场的时间变化和关系。这使得分析非常耗时，并且存在忽略具有特定相关性的区域的高风险。

因此，我们引入了一个新概念来促进同时探索多个与时间相关的标量场。基本思想是使用一种新颖的基于字形的描述，称为天际线可视化，其灵感来自信息可视化中的摩天大楼隐喻。摩天大楼由 2D 和 3D 条形图表示，其中它们的楼层显示相应表面区域的标量场的时间行为。用户可以与天际线可视化交互以查看标量场在哪些表面区域具有显着值或它们之间是否存在相关性。此外，用户可以立即看到哪些区域标量场随时间发生强烈变化或表现出强烈的反转行为。我们与几位 CFD 工程师、放射科医生和可视化专家一起评估了我们的系统。