Three-dimensional visualization analysis for marine field data based on 3D-GIS

Abstract

Considering large, complex and multi-dimensional marine field data, the general representation and analysis methods based on 2D GIS can not meet the requirements of Ocean Research. For multi-dimensional marine sampling data of sea water properties (ARGO sampling data, ship measured data, etc.), three dimensional interpolation and visual analysis methods can be used to reveal the distribution of sea water properties (such as temperature and salinity), and it is an effective way to detect regional anomaly of marine phenomenon. In order to handle three dimensional sampling data of sea water properties, this paper developed a three dimensional volume visualization analysis GIS component with OpenGL and C++. Three visualization analysis methods are designed and presented, including three-dimensional volume visualization, three dimensional slicing and cutting analysis and three-dimensional contour surface analysis. Example test is conducted, and the test result shows the proposed methods can be effectively used for ocean data analysis.