Results of a User Study on 2D Hurricane Visualization
Joel P. Martin, J. Edward Swan II, Robert J. Moorhead II, Zhanping Liu, and Shangshu Cai. Results of a User Study on 2D Hurricane Visualization. Computer Graphics Forum: The International Journal of the Eurographics Association (Special Issue of EuroVis 2008), 27(3):991–998, May 2008.
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Abstract
We present the results from a user study looking at the ability of observers to mentally integrate wind direction and magnitude over a vector field. The data set chosen for the study is an MM5 (PSU/NCAR Mesoscale Model) simulation of Hurricane Lili over the Gulf of Mexico as it approaches the southeastern United States. Nine observers participated in the study. This study investigates the effect of layering on the observer's ability to determine the magnitude and direction of a vector field. We found a tendency for observers to underestimate the magnitude of the vectors and a counter-clockwise bias when determining the average direction of a vector field. We completed an additional study with two observers to try to uncover the source of the counter-clockwise bias. These results have direct implications to atmospheric scientists, but may also be able to be applied to other fields that use 2D vector fields.
BibTeX
@Article{CGF08-hv,
author = {Joel P. Martin and J. Edward {Swan~II} and Robert J. {Moorhead}~II
and Zhanping Liu and Shangshu Cai},
title = {Results of a User Study on 2D Hurricane Visualization},
journal = {Computer Graphics Forum: The International Journal of the
Eurographics Association (Special Issue of EuroVis 2008)},
month = {May},
year = 2008,
volume = 27,
number = 3,
pages = {991--998},
abstract = {
We present the results from a user study looking at the ability of observers to
mentally integrate wind direction and magnitude over a vector field. The data
set chosen for the study is an MM5 (PSU/NCAR Mesoscale Model) simulation of
Hurricane Lili over the Gulf of Mexico as it approaches the southeastern United
States. Nine observers participated in the study. This study investigates the
effect of layering on the observer's ability to determine the magnitude and
direction of a vector field. We found a tendency for observers to underestimate
the magnitude of the vectors and a counter-clockwise bias when determining the
average direction of a vector field. We completed an additional study with two
observers to try to uncover the source of the counter-clockwise bias. These
results have direct implications to atmospheric scientists, but may also be able
to be applied to other fields that use 2D vector fields.
},
}