IBM demonstrates regional weather
forecasting system at the HPC-Asia conference in Singapore
The capabilities developed and utilized at several past experiments have
since been employed in other operational forecasting settings. For example,
this capability was demonstrated at the annual HPC-Asia conference in September
1998. The system was adapted to the region surrounding Singapore
as shown below. For this and any of the subsequent images, you can
view a higher-resolution version by simply clicking on it. You can
also interact with this map via a scene in simplified VRML.
A single 18-hour mesoscale forecast was produced at 1 km resolution
in a region 101x101 km in extent to demonstrate at the conference.
At this fine resolution on such a small scale, registration errors between
coastline and topographic maps can be even be seen in the above image.
Output from RAMS every 5 minutes of forecast time were provided for
browsing visualization. In addition to animations and interactive capabilities,
image-based rendering of three-dimensional scenes via PanoramIX
and geometric descriptions of three-dimensional scenes via VRML
incorporating simplified
geometry were available.
The following image is from one of the animations
produced during the meeting. (The animation
can also be
viewed at higher resolution, but the file is two times bigger.)
The 217-frame animation
shows a prediction of convective clouds to the northeast of Singapore on
September 1, 1998.
The image shows a terrain map, pseudo-colored by temperature overlaid
with coastline and river maps for 5 PM local time. Predicted winds
are illustrated by arrows, colored by speed. The clouds are visualized
as a white, translucent isosurface of cloud water density. This particular
time step can also be examined via a flyover
animation (The animation
can also be viewed at higher resolution, but the file is two times bigger.),
simplified VRML
geometry and a PanoramIX
scene.
Other results from the same model run are shown in the following images.
The first illustrates surface winds with streamlines, pseudo-colored by
speed with directional arrows that highlight some interesting flows along
the straights separating the various islands from the mainland in this
domain. The terrain surface is pseudo-colored by predicted total
precipitation. The 217-frame animation
also shows the convective cloud to the northeast of Singapore, but the
formation of a severe thunderstorm in the late afternoon on September 1.
(The animation
can also be viewed at higher resolution, but the file is 2.5 times bigger.)
Predicted reflectivities corresponding to rain shafts are shown as translucent
cyan surfaces.
This particular time step can also be examined via a flyover
animation (The animation
can also be viewed at higher resolution, but the file is 2.5 times bigger.),
simplified VRML
geometry and a PanoramIX
scene.
The following example illustrates surface winds with waving flags, pseudo-colored
by speed. The terrain surface is pseudo-colored by predicted humidity.
The 217-frame animation
also shows the convective cloud to the northeast of Singapore by illustrating
cloud water density at two threshold levels. (The animation
can also be viewed at higher resolution, but the file is 2.5 times bigger.)
The denser cloud is generated primarily via convection. Other affects
of convection are visible as humidity changes through the day.
This particular time step can also be examined via a flyover
animation (The animation
can also be viewed at higher resolution, but the file is 2.5 times bigger.),
simplified VRML
geometry and a PanoramIX
scene.
This final example has the terrain surface overlaid with filled contours
of heat index using a segmented colormap with perceived ordinality.
The animation
also shows the convective clouds to the northeast of Singapore by illustrating
cloud water density via direct volume rendering, and predicted reflectivities
corresponding to rain shafts as shown as translucent cyan surfaces.
(The animation
can also be viewed at higher resolution, but the file is 2.5 times bigger.)
The denser clouds are generated primarily via convection. Other affects
of convection are visible as heat index changes through the day.
lloydt@watson.ibm.com
