Field Campaign eXplorer (FCX): Empowering Scientific Advancements through Cloud-Based Data Visualization and Analysis

The Field Campaign eXplorer (FCX) is an innovative cloud-based three-dimensional visualization and analysis tool developed by the Global Hydrometeorology Resource Center (GHRC) Distributed Active Archive Center, a collaborative effort between NASA and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. FCX caters to the data exploration needs associated with diverse datasets acquired during NASA-sponsored field campaigns, driving advancements in scientific knowledge.

FCX empowers users to interactively examine observations from multiple data streams, including satellite, airborne, and ground measurements, within a unified environment. Its versatile features allow manipulation of view angles, play speed adjustment (forward, reverse, pause), zooming in and out, displaying in-flight instrument readings and analysis charts, and seamless switching between scenes of interest. FCX also enables users to track aircraft and their in-flight instrument readings, facilitating comprehensive data analysis.

An essential aspect of FCX is its extensibility, supporting multiple datasets and data formats. This transforms FCX into a flexible framework accommodating various data sources, generating visualization files like CZML, point clouds, and curtains. Users can select specific field campaigns and explore a wealth of data visualization options. Coincident datasets are identified in time, with readily accessible metadata, documentation, and DOI links for direct data access.

Novel COG development techniques in the Lightning Dashboard, efficiently generating and visualizing Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF data, are presented. The integration of LMA (Lightning Mapping Array) and GLM (Geostationary Lightning Mapper) tools by Dr. Eric Bruning is highlighted, facilitating the generation of netCDF files for the NALMA dataset and producing COG images as the final output, enhancing the data analysis process.

This presentation offers insight into FCX's and Lightning Dashboard's continued evolution, providing researchers with a powerful tool for data visualization, analysis, and collaboration within the field campaign domain. Through its interactive capabilities, data subsetter, and real-time communication, FCX enhances the understanding and utilization of diverse datasets, fostering scientific progress.

The Field Campaign eXplorer (FCX) is an innovative cloud-based three-dimensional visualization and analysis tool developed at the Global Hydrometeorology Resource Center (GHRC) Distributed Active Archive Center, a collaborative effort between NASA and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. FCX is designed to cater to the data exploration needs associated with diverse and co-incident datasets acquired during NASA-sponsored field campaigns, which are instrumental in advancing scientific knowledge.

FCX empowers end users to interactively examine observations from multiple data streams, including satellite, airborne, and ground measurements, within a unified environment. Its versatile features enable users to manipulate view angles, adjust play speed (forward, reverse, pause), zoom in and out, display in-flight instrument readings and analysis charts, and switch between scenes of interest. Moreover, FCX allows users to track aircraft and their in-flight instrument readings, facilitating comprehensive data analysis.

An essential aspect of FCX is its extensibility, achieved through support for multiple datasets and data formats. This feature transforms FCX into a flexible framework that can accommodate various data sources, generating visualization files such as CZML, point clouds, and curtains.

Users are granted the autonomy to select specific field campaigns and explore a wealth of data visualization options. Coincident datasets can be identified in time, and corresponding metadata, documentation, and DOI links are readily accessible, enabling direct data access. An exciting addition to FCX is the introduction of a three-dimensional subsetting tool, empowering users to define volumes of space for targeted data downloads.

During this presentation, we will showcase the diverse applications of FCX, highlighting its evolving capabilities, including the aforementioned data subsetter. We will delve into the two-way multi-communication implementation using web sockets, enhancing real-time interaction. Additionally, we will discuss the novel COG development techniques in the Lightning Dashboard, which efficiently generate and visualize COG (Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF) data. The implementation of dynamic data rendering will be demonstrated, showcasing its utility in identifying instrument availability through the timeline viewer.

Furthermore, we are excited to share our integration of LMA (Lightning Mapping Array) and GLM (Geostationary Lightning Mapper) tools by Dr. Eric Bruning. This integration facilitates the generation of netCDF files for the NALMA dataset and the production of COG images as the final output, enhancing the data analysis process.

The presentation will serve as an opportunity to explore the rich functionalities of FCX’s and Lightning Dashboard’s continued evolution in providing researchers with a powerful tool for data visualization, analysis, and collaboration within the field campaign domain.