Virtual Reality and Oceanography: Overview, Applications, and Perspective

With the ongoing, exponential increase in ocean data from autonomous platforms, satellites, models, and in particular, the growing field of quantitative imaging, there arises a need for scalable and cost-efficient visualization tools to interpret these large volumes of data. With the recent proliferation of consumer grade head-mounted displays, the emerging field of virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated its benefit in numerous disciplines, ranging from medicine to archeology. However, these benefits have not received as much attention in the ocean sciences. Here, we summarize some of the ways that virtual reality has been applied to this field. We highlight a few examples in which we (the authors) demonstrate the utility of VR as a tool for ocean scientists. For oceanic datasets that are well-suited for three-dimensional visualization, virtual reality has the potential to enhance the practice of ocean science

Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

The Drowning World : The visual culture of climate change

A challenging question today is how to understand and act on climate change. Previous analyses of the public outreach of the climate sciences have concluded that the urgent communication of climate change is inadequate. It is foremost the invisibility of carbon dioxide and the lack of a tangible relationship between current emissions and future effects that have been seen as the main challenge to visually represent. The Drowning World questions how the communication problem is articulated, and the analysis focuses on the supplementary images that come with this scientific communication, including cover images to reports, backgrounds to diagrams, or graphic design elements. The conclusion is that even if the scientific images might fail to communicate the complexity of the climate issue, the supplementary images, and the way the story of our changing world is told, manage to bring a feeling of change with them. Images of water are especially recurring, as are projects that use immersive environments like virtual reality, and these representations compete for attention in the media noise of modern society, a world that “drowns” the viewers in auditory and visual stimuli. Thus there are many reasons for the title of this thesis – The Drowning World

A modern coastal ocean observing system using data from advanced satellite and in situ sensors – an example

Report of the Ocean Observation Research Coordination Network In-situ-Satellite Observation Working GroupThis report is intended to illustrate and provide recommendations for how ocean observing systems of the next decade could focus on coastal environments using combined satellite and in situ measurements. Until recently, space-based observations have had surface footprints typically spanning hundreds of meters to kilometers. These provide excellent synoptic views for a wide variety of ocean characteristics. In situ observations are instead generally point or linear measurements. The interrelation between space-based and in-situ observations can be challenging. Both are necessary and as sensors and platforms evolve during the next decade, the trend to facilitate interfacing space and in-situ observations must continue and be expanded. In this report, we use coastal observation and analyses to illustrate an observing system concept that combines in situ and satellite observing technologies with numerical models to quantify subseasonal time scale transport of freshwater and its constituents from terrestrial water storage bodies across and along continental shelves, as well as the impacts on some key biological/biogeochemical properties of coastal waters.Ocean Research Coordination Network and the National Science Foundatio

Collaborative geographic visualization

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil Gestão e Sistemas AmbientaisThe present document is a revision of essential references to take into account when developing ubiquitous Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with collaborative visualization purposes. Its chapters focus, respectively, on general principles of GIS, its multimedia components and ubiquitous practices; geo-referenced information visualization and its graphical components of virtual and augmented reality; collaborative environments, its technological requirements, architectural specificities, and models for collective information management; and some final considerations about the future and challenges of collaborative visualization of GIS in ubiquitous environment

Resolving spatiotemporal characteristics of the seasonal hypoxia cycle in shallow estuarine environments of the Severn River and South River, MD, Chesapeake Bay, USA

AbstractThe nature of emerging patterns concerning water quality stressors and the evolution of hypoxia within sub-estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay has been an important unresolved question among the Chesapeake Bay community. Elucidation of the nature of hypoxia in the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay has important ramifications to the successful restoration of the Bay, since much of Bay states population lives within the watersheds of the tributaries. Very little to date, is known about the small sub-estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay due to limited resources and the difficulties in resolving both space and time dimensions on scales that are adequate to resolve this question. We resolve the spatio-temporal domain dilemma by setting up an intense monitoring program of water quality stressors in the Severn and South Rivers, MD. Volume rendered models were constructed to allow for a visual dissection of the water quality times series which illustrates the life cycle of hypoxia and anoxia at the mid to upper portions of the tidal tributaries. The model also shows that unlike their larger Virginian tributary counterparts, there is little to no evidence of severe hypoxic water intrusions from the main-stem of the Chesapeake Bay into these sub-estuaries

ToScA North America (6 – 8 June 2017, The University of Texas, Austin, TX) Program

ToScA North America will address key areas of science, including Multi-modal Imaging, Geosciences, Forensics, Increasing Contrast, Educational Outreach, Data, Materials Science and Medical and Biological Science.University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray CT Facility (UTCT); Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin; Natural History Museum (London); Royal Microscopical Society (Oxford, UK)Geological Science

High-performance computing and communication models for solving the complex interdisciplinary problems on DPCS

The paper presents some advanced high performance (HPC) and parallel computing (PC) methodologies for solving a large space complex problem involving the integrated difference research areas. About eight interdisciplinary problems will be accurately solved on multiple computers communicating over the local area network. The mathematical modeling and a large sparse simulation of the interdisciplinary effort involve the area of science, engineering, biomedical, nanotechnology, software engineering, agriculture, image processing and urban planning. The specific methodologies of PC software under consideration include PVM, MPI, LUNA, MDC, OpenMP, CUDA and LINDA integrated with COMSOL and C++/C. There are different communication models of parallel programming, thus some definitions of parallel processing, distributed processing and memory types are explained for understanding the main contribution of this paper. The matching between the methodology of PC and the large sparse application depends on the domain of solution, the dimension of the targeted area, computational and communication pattern, the architecture of distributed parallel computing systems (DPCS), the structure of computational complexity and communication cost. The originality of this paper lies in obtaining the complex numerical model dealing with a large scale partial differential equation (PDE), discretization of finite difference (FDM) or finite element (FEM) methods, numerical simulation, high-performance simulation and performance measurement. The simulation of PDE will perform by sequential and parallel algorithms to visualize the complex model in high-resolution quality. In the context of a mathematical model, various independent and dependent parameters present the complex and real phenomena of the interdisciplinary application. As a model executes, these parameters can be manipulated and changed. As an impact, some chemical or mechanical properties can be predicted based on the observation of parameter changes. The methodologies of parallel programs build on the client-server model, slave-master model and fragmented model. HPC of the communication model for solving the interdisciplinary problems above will be analyzed using a flow of the algorithm, numerical analysis and the comparison of parallel performance evaluations. In conclusion, the integration of HPC, communication model, PC software, performance and numerical analysis happens to be an important approach to fulfill the matching requirement and optimize the solution of complex interdisciplinary problems

MEVA - An interactive visualization application for validation of multifaceted meteorological data with multiple 3D devices

To achieve more realistic simulations, meteorologists develop and use models with increasing spatial and temporal resolution. The analyzing, comparing, and visualizing of resulting simulations becomes more and more challenging due to the growing amounts and multifaceted character of the data. Various data sources, numerous variables and multiple simulations lead to a complex database. Although a variety of software exists suited for the visualization of meteorological data, none of them fulfills all of the typical domain-specific requirements: support for quasi-standard data formats and different grid types, standard visualization techniques for scalar and vector data, visualization of the context (e.g., topography) and other static data, support for multiple presentation devices used in modern sciences (e.g., virtual reality), a user-friendly interface, and suitability for cooperative work

Rip Current Detection in Nearshore Areas through UAV Video Analysis with Almost Local-Isometric Embedding Techniques on Sphere

Rip currents pose a significant danger to those who visit beaches, as they can swiftly pull swimmers away from shore. Detecting these currents currently relies on costly equipment and is challenging to implement on a larger scale. The advent of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and camera technology, however, has made monitoring near-shore regions more accessible and scalable. This paper proposes a new framework for detecting rip currents using video-based methods that leverage optical flow estimation, offshore direction calculation, earth camera projection with almost local-isometric embedding on the sphere, and temporal data fusion techniques. Through the analysis of videos from multiple beaches, including Palm Beach, Haulover, Ocean Reef Park, and South Beach, as well as YouTube footage, we demonstrate the efficacy of our approach, which aligns with human experts' annotations.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 3 table