Visualization Tools For Large Seafloor Databases Accessed Over Networks

正在开发可视化工具，使科学家、教师和学生能够直接在台式计算机的屏幕上查看和操作海底的表示。可以查看许多不同类型的图片，包括地图、透视图、伪彩色图像、阴影地形图和3-D立体图。创建视图的原始数据包括多波束和相位干涉声纳的水深测量以及侧视声纳的后向散射。使用互联网上的电子通信，用户从他们的计算机(服务器)连接到哥伦比亚大学的客户端计算机，以开始可视化会话。客户端返回给用户菜单和对话框，用于选择显示类型、地图边界、颜色表、字体、数据文件等。片刻之后，表示出现在用户屏幕上的一个窗口中，计算在客户端计算机中运行。给出响应、直观和交互的界面，用户可以从定位和维护大型复杂数据库和软件代码的琐事中解放出来。用户发现，通过对查询的即时响应以及对超大型数据集的高级图形表示的更深入理解，他们的工作加快了速度。

Visualization tools are being developed to allow the scientists, teachers and students to view and manipulate representations of the ocean floor directly on the screens of their desktop computers. Many different types of pictures can be examined, including maps, perspective views, pseudocolor imagery, shaded relief diagrams and 3-D stereograms. The raw data from which the views are created include bathymetry from multibeam and phase intererometric sonars and backscatter from side-looking sonars. Using electronic communication over Internet, the users connect from their computer (the server) into a client computer at Columbia University to begin the visualization session. The client returns to the user with menus and dialog boxes for the purpose of selecting the display type, map boundaries, color tables, fonts, data files, etc.. Moments later the representation appears in a window on the user's screen with computations run in the client computer. The user, given a responsive, intuitive and interactive interface, is liberated from the chores of locating and maintaining large complex databases and software code. The users find their work accelerated by an immediate response to a query and by a greater depth of understanding from advanced graphic representations of very large datasets.