Strategies for scientific visualization: analysis and comparison of current techniques
John Andrew Berton · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1990
This presentation consists of an overview of scientific images and animation produced recently at vanous research centers. Strategies of visualization are discussed with respect to these images and the data they represent. This discussion focuses not only on software issues, such as interactivity and data handling, but also on visual and cognitive issues associated with visualization. Presented images include computational fluid dynamics simulations, meteorological and atmospheric simulations and recordings, astrophysical simulations, and field recording of natural data. Specific visualization techniques under discussion include color contour mapping in two and three dimensions, surface and isosurface mapping, volume rendering, and glyph and particle representation. In addition to explanations of techniques and interpretations of data provided by these techniques, different strategies within each technique are explored. Comparisons are also made between different strategies relative to identical or similar databases. In the process of these explanations and comparisons, some general ideas about visualization are revealed. These points are emphasized, as they relate to a specific database, ranges of similar databases, and scientific datain general. Thes.e points are ofinterest to scientists working in visualization, as they indicate efficient and effective routes to the better understanding of large databases.