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Geo-Visualization for Geo-Science Education Geo-Visualization for Geo-Science Education By Birgit Aagaard Woods, B.Sc. (Hons.)(SSP). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © September 2005 Birgit A. Woods Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et 1 * 1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 0-494-10159-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 0-494-10159-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet,distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract This thesis provides a study of terrain-rendering techniques and technology for the purpose of conveying geo-scientific information in the form of an educational, interactive, and scientifically representative geo-visualization. Specific techniques investigated include Level-Of-Detail (LOD), fractal, and voxel-based terrain rendering. The case study involves the use of high resolution LIDAR data of the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica to test the techniques used by specific software packages. These include Virtual Terrain Project, with LOD capabilities, NGRAIN, with voxel-based rendering, and the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML), a programming language for creating three-dimensional objects and environments using LOD. Through this research it has been found that three steps are common to all practices: 1, Data conversion and processing; 2, Terrain population with information and objects; and 3, Terrain Run-Time Viewing. The common limitation is the apparent trade­ off between interactive quality and visual quality. Conclusions are that LOD and Fractal based rendering are most suitable to maintain a balance between interactive and visual quality. In addition it was found that the proper use of landmarks and metaphor provide the best elements of design for Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). VRML offers the best means to place landmarks, incorporate multi-media elements, and links to other sources of information while encouraging learning through exploration. VRML was therefore used in creation of the McMurdo Learning Module; a VLE teaching geomorphology using the high resolution LIDAR data. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements Many people warrant recognition towards my experience as a Master’s student and creation of this thesis. My supervisor, D.R. Fraser Taylor merits a special thank you for selecting me to join the talented group of researchers in the Cybercartography and the New Economy project. My experience provided me with a unique opportunity to gain technical and practical knowledge, leadership skills, as well as the opportunity to attend and present at international and local conferences, all of which go far beyond what I expected at the Master’s level. These experiences will allow me to move forward with a strong education and will always represent a positive and significant time in my life. Funding was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), which should be acknowledged as well. I would like to thank the two members of my thesis committee for their support as well. Sebastien Caquard, who provided help with the content, structure, and organization of the thesis, and in particular, offered insight into the artistic dimensions, which helped make this thesis more than a technical paper but a thoughtful paper covering many theories and topics. Naomi Short of Natural Resources Canada, who not only provided much editorial advice but offered scientific insight into the use of visualizations from a glacial scientist’s perspective. Naomi also prevented the final version of the thesis from being written as ‘waffley’ as it was in the draft versions. The thesis could not have been accomplished without the technical assistance and access to software provided for me. A thank you therefore is due for Amos Hayes, technical manager at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre, who managed the messy licensing issues with ESRI. Thank you as well to Dr. Chris Herdman, head of the iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Centre for Applied Cognitive Research who provided me with a much appreciated work area within his lab, and Murray Gamble, Director of Modeling & Simulation for the Aviation and Cognitive Engineering (ACE) laboratory, who provided me with technical support and access to the NGRAIN and Creator Terrain Studio software. All members of the Cybercartography project provided me with a rewarding experience including Peter Pulsifer, whom I have learned a lot from about content development for the Atlas, members of the game cluster group who taught me much about team-work and the fun and work in games, members of the Human Oriented Technology Lab who tested my VRML visualization, Lisa Hagen and Jon Wade of the ACE lab who met with me to discuss the use of landmarks in virtual environments, Wataru Watanabe who gave very useful advise regarding the aesthetics of the McMurdo Learning Module, and the Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica cluster group, who taught me a great deal about project development, implementation, leadership and the creation of learning modules. On a personal note, I would like to thank Mike Swan for his on-going support for success in my studies, and my parents Drs. Gurli and Howard Woods for their continued encouragement through these two years. In particular, I would like to thank my mother, for if she had not received the Carleton Newsletter in her email with a description of Dr. Taylor’s project, and if she had not thought to forward that to me while I was still studying geology at Queen’s, I likely would not have applied and joined the Cybercartography project, and would therefore have missed this great opportunity entirely. Thank you all for a wonderful experience. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents A bstract........................................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................v List of Tables ..........................................................................................................................................viii List of Figures ...........................................................................................................................................ix List o f A cronym s...................................................................................................................................xiii INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: VISUALIZATION AND GEO-SCIENCE..............................................................................5 1.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 GEO-VISUALIZATION...............................................................................................................................5 1.3 COMPUTER GENERATED IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS.................................... 8 1.4 VISUALIZATION
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