HR: 1340h
AN: C43B-0231    [Abstracts]
TI: Virtual Reality Visualization of Permafrost Dynamics Along a Transect Through Northern Alaska
AU: * Chappell, G G
EM: chappellg@member.ams.org
AF: Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, UAF, POB 756020, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Brody, B
EM: brody@arsc.edu
AF: Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, UAF, POB 756020, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Webb, P
EM: webb@arsc.edu
AF: Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, UAF, POB 756020, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Chord, J
EM: chord@arsc.edu
AF: Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, UAF, POB 756020, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Romanovsky, V
EM: ffver@uaf.edu
AF: Geophysical Institute, UAF, POB 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Tipenko, G
EM: ffgst@uaf.edu
AF: Geophysical Institute, UAF, POB 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AB: Understanding permafrost dynamics poses a significant challenge for researchers and planners. Our project uses nontraditional visualization tools to create a 3-D interactive virtual-reality environment in which permafrost dynamics can be explored and experimented with. We have incorporated a numerical soil temperature model by Gennadiy Tipenko and Vladimir Romanovsky of the Geophysical institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks into an animated tour in space and time in the virtual reality facility of the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The software is being written by undergraduate interns Patrick Webb and Jordanna Chord under the direction of Professors Chappell and Brody. When using our software, the user appears to be surrounded by a 3-D computer-generated model of the state of Alaska. The eastern portion of the state is displaced upward from the western portion. The data are represented on an animated vertical strip running between the two parts, as if eastern Alaska were raised up, and the soil at the cut could be viewed. We use coloring to highlight significant properties and features of the soil: temperature, the active layer, etc. The user can view data from various parts of the state simply by walking to the appropriate location in the model, or by using a flying-style interface to cover longer distances. Using a control panel, the user can also alter the time, viewing the data for a particular date, or watching the data change with time: a high-speed movie in which long-term changes in permafrost are readily apparent. In the second phase of the project, we connect the visualization directly to the model, running in real time. We allow the user to manipulate the input data and get immediate visual feedback. For example, the user might specify the kind and placement of ground cover, by ``painting'' snowpack, plant species, or fire damage, and be able to see the effect on permafrost stability with no significant time lag.
DE: 3210 Modeling
DE: 1823 Frozen ground
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting