Visualizing climate data on a tiled panel display: A user-centered approach

Scientific experimentation related to analysis and prediction of climate changes is highly dynamic and requires various data to be processed simultaneously, including results of statistical modeling. Small displays often do not allow scientists to gain optimal access to these data due to the limited field of view they provide. In this project, we investigated how the complex climate data can be visualized using a large tiled panel display (TPD). We present a prototype of the multidisplay visualization environment developed to assist the image-based analysis carried out by the specialists from the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI). We discuss results of a contextual inquiry performed to identify needs and requirements for the visualization of climate data and report on results of an empirical study aimed to validate how willing and able domain specialists are to adopt the new visualization technology.