Developing dynamic virtual geographic environments (VGEs) for geographic research

Chen, Min; Lin, Hui; Kolditz, Olaf; Chen, Cui

doi:10.1007/s12665-015-4761-4

Cited by 50 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Simulation is one of four components of a complete virtual geographic environment [2], and it has been regarded as a good approach for developing experiments [3,4]. Simulation has made the deductive process operable in scientific experiments related to research on the real world beyond visualization [4], e.g., for interactively assessing the photovoltaic potential in urban areas [5]. In a VGE workspace, the user conducts computer-aided geographic experiments that correspond to the real world and its physical dimensions [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Geographic Simulation of Light Distribution within Three-Dimensional Plant Canopy Models

Tang

Yin

Chen

et al. 2017

IJGI

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Virtual geographic environments (VGEs) have been regarded as an important new means of simulating, analyzing, and understanding complex geological processes. Plants and light are major components of the geographic environment. Light is a critical factor that affects ecological systems. In this study, we focused on simulating light transmission and distribution within a three-dimensional plant canopy model. A progressive refinement radiosity algorithm was applied to simulate the transmission and distribution of solar light within a detailed, three-dimensional (3D) loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) canopy model. The canopy was described in three dimensions, and each organ surface was represented by a set of triangular facets. The form factors in radiosity were calculated using a hemi-cube algorithm. We developed a module for simulating the instantaneous light distribution within a virtual canopy, which was integrated into ParaTree. We simulated the distribution of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) within a loquat canopy, and calculated the total PAR intercepted at the whole canopy scale, as well as the mean PAR interception per unit leaf area. The ParaTree-integrated radiosity model simulates the uncollided propagation of direct solar and diffuse sky light and the light-scattering effect of foliage. The PAR captured by the whole canopy based on the radiosity is approximately 9.4% greater than that obtained using ray tracing and TURTLE methods. The latter methods do not account for the scattering among leaves in the canopy in the study, and therefore, the difference might be due to the contribution of light scattering in the foliage. The simulation result is close to Myneni's findings, in which the light scattering within a canopy is less than 10% of the incident PAR. Our method can be employed for visualizing and analyzing the spatial distribution of light within a canopy, and for estimating the PAR interception at the organ and canopy levels. It is useful for designing plant canopy architecture (e.g., fruit trees and plants in urban greening) and planting planning.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Geographic Simulation of Light Distribution within Three-Dimensional Plant Canopy Models

Tang

Yin

Chen

et al. 2017

IJGI

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“…Meteorological space is an important composition of the real world, and the digitalization and analysis of meteorological phenomena are indispensable functions in current advanced tools, such as digital earth [18][19][20] and virtual geographic environments (VGEs) [21][22][23][24][25][26]. In this article, to represent and analyze the multi-dimensional meteorological space, a spatial lattice model was proposed for the visualization and analysis of meteorological information.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Spatial Lattice Model Applied for Meteorological Visualization and Analysis

Chen

Wang

et al. 2017

IJGI

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Abstract:Meteorological information has obvious spatial-temporal characteristics. Although it is meaningful to employ a geographic information system (GIS) to visualize and analyze the meteorological information for better identification and forecasting of meteorological weather so as to reduce the meteorological disaster loss, modeling meteorological information based on a GIS is still difficult because meteorological elements generally have no stable shape or clear boundary. To date, there are still few GIS models that can satisfy the requirements of both meteorological visualization and analysis. In this article, a spatial lattice model based on sampling particles is proposed to support both the representation and analysis of meteorological information. In this model, a spatial sampling particle is regarded as the basic element that contains the meteorological information, and the location where the particle is placed with the time mark. The location information is generally represented using a point. As these points can be extended to a surface in two dimensions and a voxel in three dimensions, if these surfaces and voxels can occupy a certain space, then this space can be represented using these spatial sampling particles with their point locations and meteorological information. In this case, the full meteorological space can then be represented by arranging numerous particles with their point locations in a certain structure and resolution, i.e., the spatial lattice model, and extended at a higher resolution when necessary. For practical use, the meteorological space is logically classified into three types of spaces, namely the projection surface space, curved surface space, and stereoscopic space, and application-oriented spatial lattice models with different organization forms of spatial sampling particles are designed to support the representation, inquiry, and analysis of meteorological information within the three types of surfaces. Cases studies are conducted by (1) performing a visualization of radar data that is used to describe the reflectivity factor of a raindrop and the pressure field information acquired from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), and (2) taking cutting analysis as another example where advanced meteorological analysis is performed. The results show that the proposed spatial lattice model can contribute to the feasible and effective analysis of meteorological information.

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“…After disasters and incidents occur, the timely representation and sharing of the disaster and response situations using modern technology is a useful approach for supporting emergency decision-making and response efforts. Many existing studies on, and applications for, disaster mapping have already produced useful results, such as Copernicus EMS and International Disasters Charter [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Disasters and the corresponding responses have temporal-spatial characteristics, and mapping methods based on geographic information technology have the potential to represent these events in a visual and well-perceived way [15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Procedural Construction Method for Interactive Map Symbols Used for Disasters and Emergency Response

Peng

Yue

et al. 2017

IJGI

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Abstract:The timely and accurate mapping of dynamic disasters and emergencies is an important task that is necessary for supporting the decision-making that can improve the efficiency of rescue and response efforts. The existing emergency symbol libraries are primarily composed of point symbols and simple line symbols, focusing on the representation of disasters, related facilities, and operations. However, various existing response factors (e.g., the distribution and types of emergency forces) are also important for further decision-making and emergency responses; there is a need to design complex and diverse symbols to represent this rich information. Moreover, traditional mapping systems only provide static map symbols that cannot be easily edited after creation, making it difficult to support interactive editing after the symbols are mapped, thus hindering the representation of dynamic disasters and response factors. This article targets a solution of the above issues by proposing a procedural construction method of interactive map symbols for dynamic disasters and emergency responses. There are two primary research points. First, an emergency response and decision symbol library was classified and integrated into the existing attachments to form a richer symbol library for comprehensively representing disasters and emergencies. Second, an interactive map symbol procedural construction method was designed based on (1) primitive geometric compositions and geometric graphics algorithms to construct the map symbol graphics; (2) an interactive graphics control and drawing attributes configuration method to support user interactive editing of the visual variables of the mapped symbols; (3) and a dynamic updating and drawing strategy to support the real-time refreshing of the changing visual variables. The experiment was conducted using the Wenchuan earthquake as a case study, and the results demonstrate a powerful capacity of the produced interactive map symbols, which will contribute to the improvement of the mapping efficiency and representation capability of disasters and emergency response.

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Developing dynamic virtual geographic environments (VGEs) for geographic research

Cited by 50 publications

References 67 publications

Virtual Geographic Simulation of Light Distribution within Three-Dimensional Plant Canopy Models

Virtual Geographic Simulation of Light Distribution within Three-Dimensional Plant Canopy Models

A Spatial Lattice Model Applied for Meteorological Visualization and Analysis

A Procedural Construction Method for Interactive Map Symbols Used for Disasters and Emergency Response

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