Currently, within the NWS Alaska Region's Operations Network (ARONET) environment that interconnects the three Forecast Offices, Aviation Weather Unit, River Forecast center and Region Headquarters, visualization of model output (and other data) can be accomplished in two dimensional planar and cross section views as well as time animation of such products. Although for many forecast applications in the Alaska Region such capabilities are sufficient, there are situations, especially involving aviation weather hazards and
topographically forced phenomena within which the forecaster could gain significant benefit from a three-dimensional perspective or volume view, as well as from animations of such three dimensional depictions.
We describe efforts to incorporate a three- (and with animation, four-) dimensional visualization capability within the ARONET structure which can be transferred to AWIPS-class platforms once commissioned within the Alaska Region. This development effort involves a melding of the popular Vis5D visualization package developed at the University of Wisconsin with the locally developed ARONET Graphical User Interface, which allows the line forecaster the ability to interactively display a variety of data sources and products on the workstation similar to that possible on AWIPS-class workstations.
In this paper we discuss the computational and design methodology for the developmental prototype version of the 4-D visualization tools, including the rationale for altering some existing Vis5D functionality within the developmental prototype. We also discuss other new ARONET capabilities that directly tie in to the 4-D visualization prototype, such as tools to construct and display ensemble mean forecasts interactively from existing operational and experimental PSU/NCAR MM5 model forecasts. We intend to provide a brief demonstration of the prototype 4-D visualization package at the conference