Visualisation

If you are running BOINC, you can find information about the visualisation package here.

The visualisation package included in the original version of climateprediction.net allows you to view your globe as the model evolves. The visualisation updates itself from the model as the model runs. The visualisation can (if your computer is busy, and especially if your model is launching) take some time to come up. Also, it requires the model to be running to work (it needs live fields).

When the package starts it will give you 4 viewing options to choose from:

1. Visible globe with continuous clouds
2. Visible globe with cell based clouds
3. Temperature cells
4. Precipitation cells

The choices given will give you some idea about how the model is progressing. Options 2, 3 and 4 give a good idea of how the model looks at grid box resolution. This is the resolution at which the model actually operates (96 longitude points by 73 latitudes, giving a resolution of 3.75 degrees longitude by 2.5 degrees latitude).

Figure 1: Continuous cloud, snow and ice fields.

 

Figure2: Cell-based cloud, snow and ice fields.

 

Figure 3: Temperature cells at model resolution.

 

Figure 4: Precipitation cells at model resolution.

 

Option 1 appears more like real life because we've smoothed the fields from option 2. The contours of temperature have been calculated using smoothing functions applied to the grided data output from the model seen in option 2. The view in Option 1 doesn't contain any more data than the more scientifically accurate blocky, unsmoothed Option 2, but it is prettier, so we thought you might like the option of seeing it.

We anticipate making another model fields available within this visualisation package. Sea-level pressure, we hope, is going to be included soon.

As the project progresses we will provide a different, more comprehensive visualisation package aimed at schools, university students and even climate researchers. This will allow participants to visualise and analyse model output, thus taking a more active role in the experiment.

Navigation and Interaction

Manipulation and interaction of your visualisation is done via the mouse buttons.

The left (and middle) mouse button(s) enable you to rotate and translate your globe around the screen (left button to rotate; ctrl-left or middle mouse button to translate).

The right button brings up a menu that gives a variety of options:

Field display

Toggle between a various different fields within your model.

• Continuous clouds
• Cell-based clouds
• Temperature cells
• Precipitation cells

Each of these is read dynamically from the model. These fields are the "real-time" temperatures, etc. from within your model at that particular model time.

Functions

• Reset to Home position
• Save Home position

If you move your model off-screen, or if it's wobbling around too much and making you dizzy, you can just select "reset to home position" and the model will automatically take you back to a stationary view of the globe over whatever longitude, latitude you have selected as your home. This pairs with "save home position" which allows you - when you have found a view of the globe you find particularly fetching - to set a new home position that your visualisation will always default to.

Headlight

Illuminates the globe evenly. This is useful when you want to see snow/ice/cloud fields on a part of the Earth which is in darkness (the winter pole, for example).

Full-screen

Toggles between full-screen and a smaller window.