The Added Value of Large-Eddy and Storm-Resolving Models for Simulating Clouds and Precipitation

More than one hundred days were simulated over very large domains with fine (0.156 km to 2.5 km) grid spacing for realistic conditions to test the hypothesis that storm (kilometer) and large-eddy (hectometer) resolving simulations would provide an improved representation of clouds and precipitation in atmospheric simulations. At scales that resolve convective storms (storm-resolving for short), the vertical velocity variance becomes resolved and a better physical basis is achieved for representing clouds and precipitation. Similarly to past studies we found an improved representation of precipitation at kilometer scales, as compared to models with parameterized convection. The main precipitation features (location, diurnal cycle and spatial propagation) are well captured already at kilometer scales, and refining resolution to hectometer scales does not substantially change the simulations in these respects. It does, however, lead to a reduction in the precipitation on the time-scales considered – most notably over the ocean in the tropics. Changes in the distribution of precipitation, with less frequent extremes are also found in simulations incorporating hectometer scales. Hectometer scales appear to be more important for the representation of clouds, and make it possible to capture many important aspects of the cloud field, from the vertical distribution of cloud cover, to the distribution of cloud sizes, and to the diel (daily) cycle. Qualitative improvements, particularly in the ability to differentiate cumulus from stratiform clouds, are seen when one reduces the grid spacing from kilometer to hectometer scales. At the hectometer scale new challenges arise, but the similarity of observed and simulated scales, and the more direct connection between the circulation and the unconstrained degrees of freedom make these challenges less daunting. This quality, combined with already improved simulation as compared to more parameterized models, underpins our conviction that the use and further development of storm-resolving models offers exciting opportunities for advancing understanding of climate and climate change

Composition and Arrangement Techniques for Music in Interactive Immersive Environments

Abstract. Inspired by the dramatic and emotional effects of film music, we aim at integrating music seamlessly into interactive immersive applications — especially in computer games. In both scenarios it is crucial to synchronize their visual and auditory contents. Hence, the final cut of movies is often adjusted to the score or vice versa. In interactive applications, however, the music engine has to adjust the score automatically according to the player’s interactions. Moreover, the musical effects should be very subtle, i. e., any asynchronous hard cuts have to be avoided and multi-repetitions should be concealed. This paper presents strategies to tackle the challenging problem to synchronize and adapt the game music with nonpredictable player interaction behaviors. In order to incorporate expressive scores from human composers we extend traditional composition and arrangement techniques and introduce new methods to arrange and edit music in the context of interactive applications. Composers can segment a score into rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic variations of basic themes, as known from musical dice games. The individual parts of these basic elements are assigned to characterize elements of the game play. Moreover, composers or game designers can specify how player interactions trigger changes between musical elements. To evaluate the musical coherency, consistency, and to gain experience with compositional limitations, advantages and possibilities, we applied this technique within two interactive immersive applications.

Interactive Audiobooks: Combining Narratives with Game Elements

Abstract. The authoring and the design of immersive, non-linear plots remains one of the main challenges in interactive digital storytelling. This paper introduces the concept of interactive audiobooks, which combines the potential of complex (non-)linear narratives (e.g. books and radio plays) with interactive elements from computer games. The design concentrates on a flexible degree of interaction, in a way that the listener’s experience ranges between a passive listening to an interactive audio-only computer game. In this paper we discuss the story-engine used in interactive audiobooks, as well as present an authoring framework along several design guidelines to create them. Finally, we demonstrate the capabilities of our system with an adaptation of a short story from Edgar Allen Poe

4D spacetime techniques: A medical imaging case study

We present the problem of visualizing time-varying medical data. Two medical imaging modalities are compared- MRI and dynamic SPECT. For each modality, we examine several derived scalar and vector quantities such as the change in intensity over time, the spatial gradient, and the change of the gradient over time. We compare several methods for presenting the data, including isosurfaces, direct volume rendering, and vector visualization using glyphs. These techniques may provide more information and context than methods currently used in practice; thus it is easier to discover temporal changes and abnormalities in a data set