Correspondence-based visualization techniques

A visual representation model is an abstract pattern used to create images which characterize quantitative information. By using a texture image to define a visual representation model, correspondence of color to denote similarity, and correspondence of image location over multiple images to associate information into collections, highly effective visualization techniques are made possible. One such technique for two-dimensional texture-based vector field visualization is vector field marquetry. Vector field marquetry uses a synthesized image representing direction as a conditioner for pixel replacement over a collection of vector field direction-magnitude portraits. The resulting synthesized image displays easily recognizable local and global features, vector direction, and magnitude. A related technique enabled by correspondence-based methods is the sparse representation of a vector field by a topological skeleton constructed from isodirection lines. Each vector in a vector field along an isodirection line points in the same direction. Isodirection lines subdivide the domain into regions of similar vectors, converge at critical points, and represent global characteristics of the vector field.