Asheville, NC (PRWEB) June 4, 2007 -?
The Asheville-based Applied Visualization Lab is premiering its climate and visualization expertise on a global stage at the 5th International Symposium on Digital Earth in Berkeley, CA, from June 5 ? 8. The Applied Visualization Lab consists of private sector, academic and government partners in Western North Carolina that are using and developing tools to better understand the effects of human actions on the environment.
The five-day Digital Earth gathering (http://www.isde5.org) brings together world leaders from the business, academic and government sectors to experience new technologies that help foster a systems understanding of the Earth and the steps needed to sustain the planet for future generations. The emphasis of the 2007 conference is on innovative 3-D tools and experiences that encourage the opportunity for a better world. This year marks the first time the bi-annual symposium will be held in the United States.
What the Digital Earth Audience Will See
Inside the portable GeoDome? visualization environment, Digital Earth attendees will experience a unique animation of the effects of weather, development and land use through the story of how a storm moves through Western North Carolina. They will take part in a virtual tour that shows how destructive flooding can occur as a direct result of human actions such as construction of impervious surfaces and steep slope land use.
Imagine sitting in dark domed room where a sky overhead suddenly reveals ominous thunderstorms forming. There?s a steady sound of rain, and then thunder reverberates as lightning flashes all around you. This dramatic, engaging display sets the tone for the animated visualization, ?Water in Western North Carolina.? The story unfolds as audience members fly high over the Earth, learning about the qualities and importance of the water that covers two-thirds of the planet. Then the tour shifts onto a local level, zooming in just above the Swannanoa Watershed in the southern Appalachians. Participants will learn about consequences in the mountains when rain falls on impervious surfaces such as concrete and asphalt. When rain can?t soak into the earth, it cascades downhill, swelling streams and rivers and causing them to quickly flood over their banks. As the storm increases in intensity, the Digital Earth audience will see that it is not just the amount of development that can lead to flooding, but where the development occurs. Witnessing the serious consequences of flooding in such an experiential manner provides real-world, cause-and-effect understanding of how visualization can serve as a powerful decision-making tool. Seeing is believing.
?Community planners, disaster response officials and the public want and need to better understand not only the impact of climate change, but also the repercussions of our society?s actions and decisions,? said Jim Fox, operations director for the Renaissance Computing Center at the University of North Carolina Asheville, a primary collaborator on the visualization. ?RENCI at UNC Asheville is developing tools for government planners that help them convert massive GIS and other databases into effective decisions.?
Excerpts from ?Water in Western North Carolina? will be shown at Digital Earth from June 5-8 and may be viewed online at http://www.appliedvis.org.
The GeoDome Experience
The GeoDome that makes the ?Water in Western North Carolina? visualization so realistic has evolved from flight simulators, dome theaters and planetariums. Developed by The Elumenati, an Asheville-based company, the GeoDome transforms GIS data, satellite imagery, and geobrowser software into an eye-opening, experiential and intuitive learning environment.
?Audience members feel as though they are part of the experience taking place all around them, and the result is that scientific data and stories become more understandable, meaningful and memorable,? said David McConville, Director of Noospheric Research for The Elumenati. ?Given the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, the need for science education tools that inspire understanding and appropriate action has never been more compelling.?
The Applied Visualization Lab
The Applied Visualization Lab (http://www.appliedvis.org) facilitates collaboration between Asheville-based scientists, engineers, media artists, entrepreneurs and policymakers. The team behind the presentation at Digital Earth includes:
The Elumenati (http://www.elumenati.com), an Asheville-based design and engineering firm specializing in the development and deployment of immersive visualization environments and experiences.
Klein Digital (http://www.kleindigital.com), an Asheville-based design and animation studio engaged in commercial production, visual effects and technical animation.
The Renaissance Computing Center at UNC Asheville, a state-funded initiative in which high-end computing resources are being applied to address important environmental problems threatening regions within North Carolina (orgs.unca.edu/nemac/RENCIAsheville/index.php).
The Media Arts Project (http://www.themap.org), a grassroots initiative that gathers and sparks collaboration within Asheville?s lively, growing multimedia community by cultivating arts and technology.
The National Climatic Data Center (ncdc.noaa.gov), based in Asheville, where the world?s largest collection of environmental data resides. The Digital Earth demonstration combines historical climate data from NCDC, GIS data and digital elevation models from Asheville and Buncombe County, NC, and FEMA?s historical flood data.
Climate and Visualization Expertise in Asheville
Asheville, NC, is home to many important climate and environmental assets. To read about them, visit http://www.ashevillehub.com/images/stories/pdf/climate_asset_fact_sheet.pdf. Through the HUB Project (http://www.ashevillehub.com), a collaborative effort of public, educational and private organizations, Asheville and Buncombe County, NC, are pursuing specific strategies for economic development, including attracting more federal government and private meteorological agencies and companies to Western North Carolina, and establishing a digital media center that will send media arts and technologies from the southeastern United States on to the international stage.
GeoDome is a registered trademark of The Elumenati.
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