HPCC Review

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HPCC Review

• Part I VRML (FY 1999 - NGI/NW/02)
• Christopher W. Moore, Nancy N. Soreide, NOAA/PMEL
• Cathy Lascara, Glenn Wheless, Old Dominion
  University

HPCC Project Review Meeting, Norman, Oklahoma,
24-25 May 2000
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VRML Construction of Complex 3-D Worlds

• Accomplishments
• Several Virtual worlds created from NOAA
  projects
• TAO, FOCI, Vents
• Several Java-based VRML creation tools have been
  developed
• Cron jobs use these tools to update worlds
  using latest data
• Presentations/publications at professional
  meetings
• Including three invited talks

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Using VRML
Building a single, complex VRML world in gave us
coding experience. Creating Java/VTK tools for
the creation of VRML objects allowed us to
quickly make virtual reality demonstrations for
several of the NOAA projects
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VRML A First Lesson
Bathymetry in Astoria Canyon offshore from the
Columbia River outflow in Washington State, in 2D
and 3D.
2D plot
High frequency spikes in the bathymetry data are
obvious in the 3D plot (right) and are obscured
in the 2D plot (above). Calculations of
bathymetry gradients to identify regions of
internal tide generation would be impacted by
these spikes in the bathymetry data.
3D plot
Data courtesy of Robert Kamphaus, NOAA Vents
Program
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Building VRML Worlds - Java Tools
Several Java tools using were designed to build
the VRML worlds using VTKs Java bindings
VTK is an open source, freely available software
system for 3D computer graphics,
image processing, and visualization.
Worlds we created using these tools include ...
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VRML TAO/Global Carbon Cycle Program
Data from the TAO buoy array and ship-board CO2
measurements are visualized with a VRML-animator
developed at PMEL Animate
Drs Mike McPhaden, Dick Feely, NOAA/PMEL
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VRMLFOCI
A Fisheries-Oceanography virtual world was made
from data from Al Hermanns SCRUM model output
Click for VRML demo
Dr. Al Hermann, NOAA/PMEL/FOCI
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Global data sets

• Several global gridded data sets
• were made into VRML visualizations
• ETOPO30
• SST
• Climate data
• VRML demo

Courtesy Steve Hankin, NOAA/PMEL/TMAP
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VRML Stereographic Virtual Reality
Stereo
3D, interactive virtual reality visualizations
are not difficult for a scientist to create or to
view, from the web or from the desktop, and the
effect can be enhanced dramatically by including
the capability of stereographic viewing. With a
PC and a 99-cent pair of red/green sci-fi
glasses, the spheres and vectors will pop out of
the page in stereo, revealing the true 3D
location of the fish, the steep slopes of the
bathymetry, and the vertical motions near the
submarine canyon. The images can be rotated,
animated and zoomed.
Fish larvae and velocity vectors in a submarine
canyon, from a circulation model of Pribolof
Canyon in the Bering Sea. Use red/green glasses
to see images on the right in stereo.
Stereo
Courtesy of Al Hermann, NOAA/PMEL FOCI Project
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VRML Publications Presentations

• Invited to
• NOAATech2000
• Outstanding Technology Achievement Award
• SuperComputing 99
• Canadian Statistical Society Meeting
• Other presentations
• AMS 1999 - Dallas
• GOIN 1999 - Honolulu
• AMS 2000 - Long Beach

http//www.pmel.noaa.gov/vrml