Research on 3D structure information extraction and visualization technology of ocean mesoscale eddies

Abstract

As a widespread mesoscale phenomenon in the ocean, the study of mesoscale eddies has received much attention and focus. Scientists have been using data sources such as real measurements, satellite remote sensing data, and reanalysis/numerical prediction products to automatically identify and synthesize the 3D structure of mesoscale eddies locally, but at present, the 3D structure of mesoscale eddies is mostly portrayed in the form of 2D flat expressions such as static images, which has certain limitations for the expression of mesoscale eddies with multi-dimensional and dynamic characteristics, and fails to show the complete 3D structure of mesoscale eddies. The three-dimensional structure of the mesoscale vortex is not shown. In this paper, based on the flow field vector geometry feature vortex identification algorithm, with the help of Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) 3D engine and particle system technology, we developed a 3D structure information extraction and visualization algorithm for mesoscale eddies, and constructed a 3D dynamic display and analysis model, which breaks through the traditional 2D display form of mesoscale eddies and realizes the 3D dynamic visual representation and analysis of ocean mesoscale eddies. It provides a dynamic, intuitive and convenient means to study the 3D structural characteristics of mesoscale eddies, and also provides an effective support to investigate the dynamic changes of mesoscale eddies and their interactions with other ocean processes.