{"id":2083,"date":"2012-02-16T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/msr_er\/2012\/02\/16\/data-visualization-reaches-new-heights-with-layerscape\/"},"modified":"2016-08-22T20:27:56","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T03:27:56","slug":"data-visualization-reaches-new-heights-with-layerscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/data-visualization-reaches-new-heights-with-layerscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Visualization Reaches New Heights with Layerscape"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In December, I blogged about the beta release of Layerscape (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, a free set of research tools from Microsoft that enable earth scientists to visualize and tell stories around large, complex data sets. The full release is now available to the public at Layerscape (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n We\u2019re calling Layerscape an \u201cecosystem\u201d to emphasize its focus on earth science and to communicate that Layerscape\u2019s research tools include a community-based content sharing website, powered by Windows Azure. I\u2019m pretty excited about Layerscape because it offers researchers new ways of looking at lots and lots of data, both above and below the earth\u2019s surface\u2014but also because the community site provides a great venue for learning how people are actually using Layerscape. Our collaborators are starting to gain new insights into their data and make use of our communities to share and collaborate.<\/p>\n As a research program manager at Microsoft Research, I am fortunate to get to collaborate with scientists working out the enormous puzzle of how the Earth works as a system. Needless to say, it is complicated work to study this astonishing collection of interlocking components and their intricate interconnections. But Layerscape can help with this.<\/p>\n One of the important technical<\/em> challenges for the environmental scientist is managing the flow and the visualization of research data. Layerscape harnesses your PC\u2019s graphics processor to visualize large amounts of data\u2014in space and in time. Layerscape could be used to render 3-D visualizations from such diverse data sets as historical surface temperature measurements, chlorophyll concentration, seismic activity, greenhouse gas diffusion, sea ice extent, wind patterns, ocean pH, insect biodiversity, aquifer storage, geothermal heat flux, antelope migratory patterns, or the transport of Saharan dust as it fuels plankton blooms across the surface of the Atlantic Ocean with nitrogen and iron. Layerscape can also create abstract visualizations where you do not necessarily need latitude and longitude\u2014just coordinate axes.<\/p>\n In addition to rendering data in 3-D space and in time, Layerscape has what we call freedom of perspective and free narrative. You can place your virtual eye anywhere you like and connect a sequence of perspectives and automated transitions that emphasize what the data is doing and what story you want to communicate. Such storytelling is ideal for educational outreach, enabling you to share your results with the scientific community and the general public.<\/p>\n