Lifecycle analysis of cumulus clouds using a 3d virtual reality environment

The behavior of clouds is one of the great unknowns in climate variability. In this study a new method is developed to investigate the entire lifecycle of shallow cumulus clouds in Large Eddy Simulations (LES). Since the eye is better equipped to capture and recognize the distinct time-dependent three-dimensional features of a cloud than an automated, a combination of automated constraints and human inspection in a 3D virtual reality environment (VE) is used to select clouds that are exemplary in their behavior throughout their entire lifespan. This way, the structure of the cloud can be studied in time.

@InProceedings { HJGP06a,
  author       = "Heus, T. and Jonker, H.J.J. and Griffith, Eric and Post, Frits H.",
  title        = "Lifecycle analysis of cumulus clouds using a 3d virtual reality environment",
  booktitle    = "proc. 17th AMS Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence",
  year         = "2006",
  note         = "Extended note.",
  url          = "http://graphics.tudelft.nl/Publications-new/2006/HJGP06a"
}