http://www.sdsc.edu/us/visservices/software/glyphsea/How does one display a vector field? Vector visualization is an
important area to investigate scientific data in many
domains. Prior visualization strategies have primarily
focused on low resolution and discrete glyph plots or
volumetric rendering of scalar fields, which do not permit a
full characterization of underlying phenomena. We have
developed an interactive glyph visualization application
that allows scientists to explore vector fields. We
implement a novel technique of procedural dipole texturing
to encode and display vector data which shows magnitude and
direction in an unambiguous and view-independent manner. We
employ a novel lattice method to show neighborhood, which
also enables glyphs to be distinguished. We further enhance
visualization by using screen space ambient occlusion,
jitter, outline halos and displacement. By combining
contextual information with glyphs, such as geographic maps
and representations of crustal structure with
three-dimensional isosurfaces, scientists are able examine
vector fields in a rich and interactive multivariate
environment. We demonstrate the results for time-dependent
vector data from three different simulations, including the
"Big One" earthquake simulation affecting the Los Angeles
region. These new visualizations clearly depict the obvious
features, as well those missed in previous investigations.
