© Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2015. This material is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode)

EarthSci – A new tool for 3D data visualisation, integration and distribution

For Further Information: Malcolm Nicoll Email: Malcolm.Nicoll@ga.gov.au Ph: +61 2 6249 9542 Web: www.ga.gov.au

History Since the late 1990s, Geoscience Australia (GA) has been developing open source visualisation tools to make its datasets and 3D project outputs accessible to non-expert users and/or those without specialist software. Early efforts utilised VRML to publish 3D Web Maps followed by X3D, which included a basic virtual globe implementation. The emergence of Digital Earth technologies including Google Earth and NASA Worldwind led to changed user expectations; GA subsequently chose the NASA Worldwind JAVA SDK as the basis for further development, adding support for subsurface datasets, 3D models and animation clipping.

The agency released the GA Worldwind Suite in March 2011. A major program of redevelopment commenced in 2013 to improve the functionality and stability by migrating to the Eclipse software platform. Completed in June 2015, the redevelopment combines the best features of GA Worldwind with the features of Eclipse, including modular plug-in architecture, in-built help, native windowing and a model-based User Interface. The resulting platform, EarthSci, is a stable, flexible tool with powerful science visualisation features.

Functionality EarthSci supports the integration and visualisation of a wide range of data types regardless of scale or coordinate system. 3D data is read from its original format and projected on the fly. 3D data types include points, lines, triangulated surfaces, 2D/3D grids and limited drill hole support. GIS data types include WFS and WMS layers, DEM and Bathymetry grids. Tiled image support includes level of detail and vertical curtains. Data filters are written as required. The tool is also designed to facilitate scientific communication; an in built keyframe animation function enables data fly-throughs to be generated and used in the production of video and multimedia applications for education, science promotion and communication purposes. In addition, a Presentation mode enables journeys through the virtual globe environment to be constructed, a functionality which has been deployed for public presentations about major areas of research activity for Geoscience Australia. EarthSci interface showing integration of disparate 3D data sets.

Storytelling Geoscience Australia uses its vast data holdings in a variety of communication contexts. Data visualisation enables this communication to come alive, providing strong visual support for evidence based decision-making and providing a dramatic illustration of key findings supported by the data.

Case study: Wowing visitors with dynamic earth visualisation

Geoscience Australia opens its doors every year to thousands of visitors, at its annual Open Day event. One popular activity is a presentation of the 3D viewing facilities, where a wide variety of data is visualised and explored. Seismic data such as the location of earthquakes occurring deep within the Earth’s crust and modelling of the subduction zone of the Sumatra plate is extremely popular. Integrated into film and multimedia experiences, these visualisations can be a powerful way of engaging non-technical visitors with the importance and benefits of geoscience research within our region.

3D data visualisation showing historic seismic data and modelling of Sumatra subduction zone. (Source data: James Cook University and Geoscience Australia).

Case study: Common Earth Model — Promoting Australia’s national datasets

In 2012, a number of key geoscientific data sets were compiled into a single instance of the 3D data viewer and distributed as part of the major book Shaping a Nation: A geology of Australia. Since then, the Common Earth Model has been re-packaged as a stand-alone product designed to demonstrate and engage new users of the data. The compilation enables users to view and explore the data without first downloading it, and provides a valuable source of focus at conferences and stakeholder meetings where data examples are often requested.

Geoscientific datasets visualised within the Geoscience Australia Common Earth Model1.

Case study: Understanding and managing Australia’s marine jurisdiction

Data from the 2009 Bathymetric Grid of Australia was used to generate a flythrough to showcase important features of Australia’s marine environment. Such flythroughs are useful in raising public awareness of ocean features and also in assisting marine managers to describe where and how key management decisions may impact on the marine environment. Image from Bathymetry of the Australian Margin2.

Open source access and collaboration The EarthSci codebase is published on GitHub, which can be freely forked for further exploration and development. New software functionality developed in this way can be integrated into the repository, through pull requests forwarded to Geoscience Australia. The repository can be accessed at: https://github.com/GeoscienceAustralia/earthsci/wiki

The EarthSci platform is designed for user customisation, re-branding and functional extension through the development of new plug-ins. Geoscience Australia welcomes collaboration with other individuals, organisations and agencies with an interest in applying and developing EarthSci as a scientific, data discovery, communication or visualisation tool.

References

1. Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) Geoscience Australia 3D Viewer: Common Earth

Model. Canberra, 2012. 2. Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Bathymetry of the Australian Margin (video). Canberra, 2010.

Nicoll, M.G., Cerini, B., De Hoog, M.

GA 14-8648 | GeoCat 83847)

Introduction EarthSci is a powerful new tool for visualising earth science datasets in three dimensions. This ‘virtual Earth’-style web application was originally developed by Geoscience Australia to assist its researchers to understand and present their findings. As demand for accessible data visualisation increased, the tool has been redeveloped to increase its useability and flexibility as a data discovery, integration and delivery tool.