A three-dimensional, time-dependent, digital earth for the analysis of multiple models and observational data sets

In this paper, the task of assembling the major models and observational systems into one digital earth with advanced scientific visualization and analysis capabilities is undertaken. While many national network operators and modeling centers have made their data, metadata, and forecast output available in near-real time, the realization of the physical environment is far from complete because each data format is different, and the individual pieces are produced separately, without the linkages that connect the various sources into a combined product. From the perspective of a single digital earth, complex interrelationships in oceanic and atmospheric modeling can be addressed by combining the individual pieces into a whole earth which is governed by a clock that compensates for the different rates at which information is processed between two or more models, or data sets (e.g., a synchronizer). A case study, demonstrating the roles of models and observing systems in forming an integrated scenario for the marine environment, will be discussed.