Visualizing Real-Time Climate Data in Virtual Reality and Its Application in Climatology

The aim of this paper is to explore creative ways of using the state-of-the-art Virtual Reality (VR) technology to visualize real-time climate datasets in a 3-D immersive environment. Long-term climate datasets, such as NOAA Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST), Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST), wind stress and thermocline from NCEP Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (GODAS), NOAA interpolated Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR), CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP), and NCEP-NCAR sea level pressure from 1900 to present, are implemented in an interactive globed developed in VR. Users can select these datasets from a user-specified file path in the main menu and visualize them from different angles. Users can also view the cross-section of a 3-D variable by cutting it in any direction using the cut-tool in the VR application. Mechanisms and air-sea interactions of different meteorological phenomena such as El Nino can be demonstrated in the VR application. The recent triple La Niño events can be demonstrated in our VR application. The climate change can be visualized intuitively and efficiently in the VR as well. We explored the remote and wireless streaming feature of the VR software for remote training and education in VR. Multiple users can log into our central server from anywhere with internet access to use this VR application. We also developed the standalone feature in the VR headset to make our VR application more accessible. Unlike its previous version which required tethering to a PC via a wired or wireless connection, the new standalone version powered by its own Android operating system, allows the VR headset to function like a mobile device. Therefore, this VR application can be widely used in scientific research, training, and public outreach.