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    This document summarizes a workshop on data visualization to support ecosystem-based management that was held in February 2013 at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine. The workshop brought together participants from NOAA units, partner agencies, and academic institutions to share information and develop synergies around data visualization tools to help communicate ecosystem science and support ecosystem-based management decisions. Presentations at the workshop covered a wide range of topics, including visualizing complex ecosystem data and models, designing visualizations for different audiences, and tools for accessing and analyzing various types of environmental data. The goal was to facilitate exchange of information around existing visualization capabilities and needs to better inform management and the public about ecosystem science.

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    This document summarizes a workshop on data visualization to support ecosystem-based management that was held in February 2013 at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine. The workshop brought together participants from NOAA units, partner agencies, and academic institutions to share information and develop synergies around data visualization tools to help communicate ecosystem science and support ecosystem-based management decisions. Presentations at the workshop covered a wide range of topics, including visualizing complex ecosystem data and models, designing visualizations for different audiences, and tools for accessing and analyzing various types of environmental data. The goal was to facilitate exchange of information around existing visualization capabilities and needs to better inform management and the public about ecosystem science.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    107 views56 pages

    Data Visualization Workshop Report

    Uploaded by

    mickamal
    This document summarizes a workshop on data visualization to support ecosystem-based management that was held in February 2013 at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine. The workshop brought together participants from NOAA units, partner agencies, and academic institutions to share information and develop synergies around data visualization tools to help communicate ecosystem science and support ecosystem-based management decisions. Presentations at the workshop covered a wide range of topics, including visualizing complex ecosystem data and models, designing visualizations for different audiences, and tools for accessing and analyzing various types of environmental data. The goal was to facilitate exchange of information around existing visualization capabilities and needs to better inform management and the public about ecosystem science.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 56

    WorkshoponDataVisualizationtoSupport

    EcosystemBasedManagement

    NorthAtlanticRegionalTeam,NART
    GulfofMaineResearchInstitute
    Portland,Maine
    February56,2013

    Contents
    Introduction....................................................................................................................................3
    Presentations..................................................................................................................................5
    Changingperspectivesaboutachangingecosystem.................................................................5
    Visualizingcomplexity:howcanweviewfoodwebandmultispeciesdataanddynamic
    ecosystemmodeloutputs..........................................................................................................7
    VisualizationandGamingofEcosystemModelScenarios.......................................................11
    Gettingmorefromdatathanjustwherethefishare..............................................................13
    Visualizinghighlyspatialandtemporaldata..............................................................................2
    Challenges,lessonslearned,andaFEWpotentialvisualizationsolutionsforsynthesizing
    sciencetoinformManagementinsouthFlorida.......................................................................4
    Dynamicconceptualizationofhabitat........................................................................................6
    Designinggeospatialdatavisualizationsforageneralaudience...............................................7
    Dealingwithscientificandcommunicationuncertaintythroughdatavisualization...............12
    NEFSCDataServer:access&visualizationwithPython...........................................................13
    Webaccess,analysisandvisualizationofstandardizedoceanographicandmeteorological
    data...........................................................................................................................................15
    OceanographicdataanddataservicesatPacIOOS,aregionalassociationofIOOS...............17
    Dataandvisualizationintegrationviawebbasedresources...................................................19
    VisualizingFitnessforPurpose.................................................................................................21
    VisualizationsofHabitatandSitingDecisions..........................................................................23
    Habitatmodelingandvisualization..........................................................................................25
    Communicatinganunderstandingoflowertrophiclevelsinmarineecosystems..................27
    FindAndVisualizeNOAAData:AnOverviewoftheNOAAEarthInformationSystem(NEIS)
    andTerraViz..............................................................................................................................28
    Gettingtoobservingdatausigntheclimatologytoolkit..........................................................29
    Developingaclimatedatavisualizationtoolformarineecosystemmanagers.......................31
    ContributionsviaCorrespondence...............................................................................................36
    Recommendations........................................................................................................................37
    Principles:..................................................................................................................................37
    Actions:.....................................................................................................................................38
    Appendix1.Agenda......................................................................................................................39
    Appendix2.Participants...............................................................................................................40
    Appendix2.Participantscontinued..........................................................................................41
    Appendix3.VisualizationProductsandServices.........................................................................42

    CoverartbyK.Friedland

    Introduction

    Artistsneedtoputasmuchtime,energy,andresourcesintomarketingtheirworkastheyput
    intocreatingit.Ifyouspend10hourscreatingyourartwork,youneedtomatchthatwith10
    hoursofpromotionandmarketingofyourart.

    KennethProudfoot

    AsNOAAmovestoanecosystembasedmanagementapproach,itwillbeimportanttoensure
    anunderstandingofthescienceavailable,itsapplicationtomanagement,andhowtobest
    communicatethistothepublic.NOAAofficeshavevaryingcoreresponsibilitiesthathaveled
    tothedevelopmentofadiverserangeofdatavisualizationtoolswithintheagency.Manyof
    thesetoolshavethepotentialtohelpsolvethedatavisualizationproblemsofotherNOAA
    offices;however,researchersandmanagersoftendonothaveaworkingknowledgeofdata
    visualizationcapabilitiesdevelopedoutsidetheirownoffice.NOAAalsohasagencyand
    academicpartnersthatcanprovidevisualizationcapabilitiestoapplytothesharedgoalofa
    betterunderstandingofecosystemstructureandfunction.
    WhatisthelevelofinvestmentintransmittingdataeffectivelythatNOAAshouldmake?Asthe
    quotationabovesuggestsforartists,aconcomitantamountoftimepromotingandmarketing
    artshouldmatchtheinitialinvestmentinthecreativeprocess.Theanalogycanbeappliedto
    science,andecosystemmanagementinparticular,thatscientistsshouldconsiderinvesting
    moretimeandresourcestoinsuretheirfindingsareeffectivelycommunicatedtoother
    scientists,managers,stakeholders,andthepublic.
    Whatcontinuestobeanareaofrelativedatavisualizationweaknessisthepresentationofthe
    sciencesupportinganecosystembasedapproachtomanagement.NOAAhastremendous
    fisheriesandenvironmentaldataholdings,yetinsomeareasthedataareonlysharedamong
    scientists,managersandstakeholderswiththeuseoftablesandsimplisticgraphs.Itis
    importantthatNOAAimproveitsunderstandingoftheavailableecosysteminformationin
    ordertobetterinformresourcemanagementdecisions.Forexample,fisherymanagement
    councilsandthefishingindustryarebeingaskedtoincorporateecosystemconsiderationsand
    toadoptanecosystemsapproachtomanagement,yetmanymembersofthiscommunityare
    stilldevelopinganunderstatingofecosystemconceptsandthemodelsbeingusedforthe
    provisionofmanagementadvice.Managementscenariotestingandcomparisonunder
    conventionalstockmanagementhasbeenrelativelytractable,typicallytakingtheformof
    bracketedcomparisonsinvolvingalimitedsetofoptions.However,scenariotestingunderan
    3

    ecosystemapproachwillbemorechallengingtoconductandexplain.Therangeanddepthof
    datafromecosystemsimulationsshouldbepresentedinawaythatreflectstheincreased
    informationcontentofthesemodels.Itcouldbeenvisionedthatmanagementcouncilsmight
    meetinavisualizationcapablemeetingroomtoconsidermodelsandscenarios,wheretesting
    isconductedinteractivelywiththeparticipantsseeingnotonlythefisheryresponse,butalso
    thewayclimatedriversareaffectingthephysicalaspectsoftheecosystemandhowalllevelsof
    thebiologicalcommunityareresponding.ThebiologicalcommunitiesthatNOAAneedsto
    considerinanecosystemmannerforthefisherymanagementprocessandothermanagement
    processesarebroad(e.g.protectedresources,habitat,andclimatedrivers).Ecosystem
    scientistsacrosstheagencyhavearesponsibilitytobetterinformthepublicaboutecosystem
    functionandchange;bettervisualizationtoolswouldalsoaddressthisissue.
    ThegoalofthisworkshopwastofacilitateinformationexchangebetweenNOAAunits,
    cooperatingagenciesandacademicinstitutionsthathavedatavisualizationcapabilitiesand/or
    requirementstoinstituteecosystembasedapproachestomanagement.Theworkshop
    providedanopportunityforpractitionerstoshareinformationanddevelopsynergiesto
    addressthegeneralproblemofdatavisualizationtosupportecosystembasedmanagement.
    TheworkshopwasheldFebruary56,2013attheGulfofMaineResearchInstitute,Portland,
    Maine.TheagendaforthemeetingcanbefoundinAppendix1.Theworkshopwaschairedby
    K.Friedland,SamuelChavezservedasrapporteur,andafulllistofparticipants,includingthose
    joiningthemeetingremotely,canbefoundinAppendix2.Theworkshopparticipantsalso
    collatedatableofVisualizationProductsandServiceswhichcanbefoundinAppendix3.
    Throughoutthetext,figurenumbersareinreferencetothesectioninwhichtheyappear.
    Thisreportisasummaryoftheactivitiesoftheworkshopprovidedbytheworkshop
    participantstotheNART;thereporthasnopeerreviewstatusandisnotpartofanyreport
    series.

    Presentations
    Changing perspectives about a changing ecosystem
    KevinFriedland,NationalMarineFisheriesService,Narragansett
    TheNortheastShelfEcosystemisexperiencingdramaticchangeinitsphysicalenvironmentand
    theresponseofthebioticcommunity.Thispastyear,2012,wasthewarmestyearever
    recordedfortheecosystem.Longandshorttermtimeseriesarebeingusedtoexpressthe
    trendsinecosystemtemperature.Longtermtrendsarebasedontemperaturerecordsdating
    backtothe1800sandshowthatthedramaticincreaseintemperaturein2012exceeded
    previoushightemperaturesrecordedinthe1940s(seefigure1).Itwassuggestedbythe
    workshopthattemperaturefortheecosystem

    Figure1.LongtermseasurfacetemperaturefortheNortheastShelfecosystemderivedfromtheERSST
    database.

    shouldbeshownincontexttothechangesintemperatureonaglobalscale.Theseglobal
    analysesshowthattheNortheastShelfisoneofthemostrapidlywarmingecosystemsinthe
    world,suggestingtheecosystemposesuniquemanagementchallenges.Mostcomprehensive
    depictionsofecosystemtemperaturearebasedonseasurfacetemperaturesinceithasbeen
    measuredmorefrequentlyoverthelongtermandisreadilyavailablefromsatellitesensors.
    However,recentlydevelopedmodelhindcastsmayprovidesourcedatatodevelopsimilarly
    comprehensivegriddedbottomtemperaturedataproductstocomplementtheseasurface
    dataproducts.Thesedataresourcesshouldbedevelopedforcomplementaryusewithexisting
    observationaldataresources.WiththereleaseofnewIPCCAR5assessmentdata,the
    communityshouldbemadeawareoftheprojectedtrendsforwatertemperatureinthe
    ecosystem.
    5

    Thebaseofthefoodchainisdrivenbyplanktonproductionthatispatternedindistinctseason
    bloomcycles.Withthechangesintemperatureandsalinityoccurringintheecosystem,there
    havebeenchangesrecordedinbothprimaryproductionandintheabundanceandspecies
    compositionofzooplankton,whichformthebaseofthefoodchainforresourcespecies.
    Temperatureandsalinitywillhaveadirecteffectonproductionthroughphysiologicaleffects
    onlowertrophiclevelorganismsandthroughotherhabitatalterationslikechangeinthe
    stratificationofthewatercolumn,whichcanaffectbloomtiminganddimensions.Inrecent
    years,thespringbloomontheNortheastShelfhasstatedearlier(seefigure2).Theblooms
    havealsobeenassociatedwithhigherwatercolumnplanktonbiomassasindicatedby
    chlorophyll

    Figure2.SpringbloomchlorophyllconcentrationandstartdayfortheNortheastShelfecosystemusingdata
    fromSeaWiFSandMODISoceancolorsensors.

    concentrations.Thismayimpactotherspeciesinavarietyofwayssuchaschangingfeeding
    opportunitiesforearlylifehistorystagesorimpactingtheflowofenergyintheecosystem.How
    thisinformationisperceivedbyabroaderaudiencewasdiscussed.Itwasagreedthat
    supportingillustrationsofhowphysicalfactorscombinetoshapebloomswouldbeuseful.
    Thesesameillustrationsshouldalsodrawattentiontothelinkagesbetweentheproductionof
    loweranduppertrophiclevels.
    Awelldocumentedconsequenceofrecentchangeintheecosystemhasbeenchangeinthe
    distributionofspecies.Speciesdistributionhasbeenreportedintheresearchliteratureandis
    describedinanumberofwebresourcesthatgenerallysupplypointofoccurrencedata.The
    workshopdiscussedanumberofideasforbothaframeworktoadvanceregionaldescriptionof
    speciesdistributionalandsomeofthedataelementsthatmightbeusefultoprovidetoboth
    researchandmanagementsectors.Thereareanumberofdataproductsthatprovide
    distributionpointofoccurrenceofspecies,itwasagreedthatstatisticaldepictionsof
    continuousdistributionwouldbeusefulonanumberoflevels.And,characterizationof
    distributioncouldbeenhancedwithmeasuresofcenterofmassandkernaldensitydata.
    6

    Visualizationtoolstorelatespeciesdistributiontootherparametersliketemperaturewouldbe
    desirable,aswouldanimateddepictionsofdistribution.Finally,themorecomprehensive
    developmentofnichespacemodelsforawiderangeofspeciesshouldbeencouragedsothat
    futuredistributionscanbeprojectedwiththedatafromclimateprojectionmodels.The
    workshoprecommendedtheformationofaworkinggrouponvisualizingspeciesdistribution
    (seerecommendations).


    Visualizing complexity: how can we view food web and multispecies data and
    dynamic ecosystem model outputs
    SarahGaichas,NationalMarineFisheriesService,WoodsHole
    Foodwebsshowtheenergeticrelationshipsbetweenmanyspeciesorcomponentswithinan
    ecosystem.Thisinformationcanbeusefulwhenconsideringmanagementoptionsforhuman
    impactsoninteractingspeciesorontheecosystemasawhole;however,foodwebscanbe
    incrediblycomplexinlargemarineecosystemswherehundredsofspecieshavethousandsof
    interactions,manyofthemnotdirectlyobserved.Therefore,muchofourunderstandingof
    marinefoodwebscomesfromorganizingavailabledataintovariousmodelframeworks.
    Modelsoffoodwebsandmultispeciessystemscanbegenerallydividedintostaticanddynamic
    types.Staticfoodwebmodelsshowtherelationshipsbetweencomponentsatasnapshotin
    time,whiledynamicmodels(sometimesbasedonthestaticmodels)showhowtherelated
    specieschangeovertime.Bothtypesofmodelcanbeimplementedatanyspatialscale.The
    purposeofthispresentationwastoshowarangeofexistingvisualizationsoffoodwebdata
    andmodeloutput,togetfeedbackonwhichvisualizationsmightbemostusefulforwhich
    targetaudiencesandpurposes.Further,thispresentationwasintendedtoprovokediscussion
    ordevelopmentofimprovedvisualizationsthat1)adequatelycapturecomplexitywithout
    overwhelmingthetargetaudience;2)arevisuallyappealingwhilepreservingscientificcontent;
    and3)communicateanappropriatelevelofuncertaintyinobservationaldataormodel
    outputs.
    Visualizationsofstaticfoodwebs(Fig1)canrangefromsimpledrawingsofpredatorsandprey
    connectedbyarrows(1a)tohighlycomplexboxdiagrams(1b),engineeringdiagramswith
    numericflows(1c),andabstractnetworkswithnodesandlinkscodedforinteractionstrengths
    andflowrelationships(1d).Theleastcomplexfoodwebsarethosewiththefewest
    compartmentsandrelationships;reductionofcompartmentscanbeachievedbyeither
    focusingonthefoodwebsupportingasinglespecies(Fig1a)orbyaggregatingmanyspecies
    intofewer,moregeneralizedfunctionalgroups(Fig1c).However,therearetimeswhen
    complexityisthepointofthevisualization.Also,withinteractivevisualizationcapability,users
    7

    canworkthoughthecomplexityofafoodwebsuchasFigs1bor1dbyselectingindividual
    speciestoseetheirrelationshipswithinthelargercontextofthefullfoodweb.The
    visualizationsoftwareusedtoproducebothFigs1band1dhasthisinteractivecapability,
    althoughonlythenetworksoftware(Gephi,http://gephi.org/)iswidelyavailable.
    Visualizationsofdynamicecosystemmodeloutputs(Fig2)cansimilarlyrangefromsimpletime
    seriesplotsofmultipleattributesforasinglespecies(2a)orthebiomasstrendofanaggregated
    groupfromthefoodweb(2b)throughmorecomplexmultispeciestimeseriesplotsor
    aggregatespeciesresultsoverarangeofmodeledconditions.Uncertaintyinthemodeloutputs
    canbeexpressedasenvelopesaroundresults(2c),variationsofboxandwhiskerplots(2d),or
    ordinationsofresultsoverawiderangeofparametervaluesandmodeledconditions(2e).
    Thesevisualizationsrequireconsiderablymoreexplanationtoorientviewersthanthestatic
    foodwebvisualizations,andarelikelytofindamorereceptiveaudienceamongscientiststhan
    amongthegeneralpublicintheircurrentform.However,theresultsofdynamicmodelsare
    likelytobeusefulinamanagementcontextwheremanagersneedtovisualizethepotential
    impactsofclimate,speciesinteractions,orhumanactivitiesoncomplexsystemsovertime.
    Here,amoreinteractiveformatmayalsobehelpful,aswellascreativeuseofanimationto
    showchangingsystemattributesovertime.Thechallengesofreflectingappropriate
    complexityanduncertaintyindynamicmultispeciesmodelvisualizationsareconsiderable,but
    maybeovercomewithacombinationofiterativeworkwithtargetaudiencesandcreativeuse
    ofinteractivemedia.

    Figure1.Staticfoodwebvisualizations.


    Figure2.Dynamicfoodwebmodelvisualizations,without(top)andwith(bottom)uncertainty.

    10

    Visualization and Gaming of Ecosystem Model Scenarios


    RobertGamble,NationalMarineFisheriesService,WoodsHole
    Visualizationoftheoutputsfromecosystemmodelsisnotaneasytask.Therewillbemany
    scenariosrun,withmultipleoutputsofimportance.Specifically,managerswillwanttoknow
    thingslike:biomassoftargetspecies(ecologicallyorcommerciallyimportantspeciesaswellas
    protectedgroups),economicimpacts,unanticipatedimpactsontheecosystemfrom
    managementactions,andmanyotherpossibilities.Thisreinforcestheneedtohaveclear
    managementobjectivesbeforerunninganymodel,butthepresentationoftheresultsstillwill
    notbetrivial.Oneexampleofoutputspotentiallyusefultomanagersistheproportionof
    impactsfromfishing,environmental,andspeciesinteractionsandhowthosemightchange
    underdifferentscenarios(Figure1).Inthefigurebelow,allgroundfishinamultispeciessurplus
    productionmodelhadtheirgrowthratereducedby10%inaclimatescenario.Themodelwas
    designedtoseparateouttheeffectsonbiomassfromfishing,climate,andspeciesinteractions.
    Thefigureshowsthatresultsinevenrelativelysimplescenarioscanbecomplexand
    unintuitive.InspiteofYellowtailflounderbeingincludedinthegroupwitha10%reductionof
    growthrate,itincreasedinbiomassbytheendoftherunduetocompetitivereleasebyother
    membersofthegroundfishgroup.

    Figure1.Changestobiomassovertherunofamultispeciesproductionmodelduetodifferentpressures.Values
    belowthe0lineindicateanincreaseinbiomassduetoapressure,valuesabovethe0lineindicateadecrease.

    Often,whatwillbemostimportanttomanagerswhenlookingatresultsfromecosystem
    models,isacomparisonoftradeoffsinvariousoutputscomparedtoobjectives.Forexample,
    onecouldbalancebiomassofcommerciallyimportantspeciesagainstmarinemammal
    protectionaswellasforagefishwhichsupportbothgroups.Aradarorspiderplotisoneway
    todisplaysuchdata,andtheexamplegivenisfromamultispeciesproductionmodelinwhich
    11

    foragefisharefishedatdifferentlevels.Theplotshowstheresponseofratiosofbiomasstoa
    targetvaluefor6differentobjectives,wherethetargetvalueisrepresentedbythe1.0lineon
    theplot(Figure2).OthervisualizationenvironmentssuchasGoogleEarthorTerraVizshould
    alsobeexploredinthecontextofecosystemmodelswithageospatialcomponent.

    Figure2:Aradar/spiderplotshowingtheeffectsofdifferentlevelsofharvestonforagefishcomparedto6
    targetreferencepoints(representedbythe1.0redline).

    Itwillalsobeofgreatusetomanagersandtobeabletointeractivelyexplorescenarios.These
    canrangefrommorecomplexGUIinterfacesthathidetheunderlyingmodels(althoughthe
    equationsshouldalwaysbemadeavailableinsomefashion),towebbasedinterfaceswhich
    allowpickingspecificsetsofparameterstoviewthechangesinanumberoftypesof
    visualizationsillustratingtradeoffs,toevensimplerexploratorymodels.Thegaming
    environmentcouldbedynamicwithamodelbeingrunbasedonthechangedparameters,or
    staticwiththemodelrunsalreadyhavingbeendoneinadvance(likelynecessaryforsomeof
    themorecomplexecosystemmodels).Exploratorymodelscouldbeassimpleaswhiteboards,
    orotherhandsongamessuchasusingmultipledecksofcardstorepresentimportant
    mechanismsinanecosystemmodel.Whilenomanagementdecisionswouldbemadefrom
    12

    suchsimplegamingenvironments,theycouldprovideanunderstandingofwhatthemost
    importantfeaturesofanecosystemmaybe.


    Getting more from data than just where the fish are
    ScottGeis,NationalMarineFisheriesService,WoodsHole
    ArcGISisasystemdesignedtodisplay,integrate,andsynthesizegeographicanddescriptive
    informationfromvarioussources.Thisplatformallowsscientiststopresentcomplex
    informationbycombiningimageryanddatasetsfrommultiplesourcesintovisuallyappealing
    maps.ThemyriadoftoolsprovidedbyArcGISallowforstatisticalanalysistobeperformed,and
    recentadvancementsinArc10.1allowforenhancedevaluationandvisualizationoftimeseries
    data.CommonapproachestotimeseriesdatavisualizationwithGeographicInformation
    Systems(GIS)havebeenmetwithcriticismbecausetheyattempttodisplaydatawiththree
    dimensionalcharacteristicsonatwodimensionalmap.Sincedatahasbothaspatialanda
    temporalcontext,responsetothesecriticismshasbeentomovetowardsanalysesthat
    rendereddataonathreedimensionalsurfaceandashifttotoolsthatperformspacetime
    analyses.Intheend,noonetoolprovidesaonestopshottosuccessfullyvisualizingtimeseries
    data.Insteaditisacombinationoftoolsandtechniquesthatcanproducethebestresults.
    CommonApproachestoTimeSeriesVisualization:
    WhilethevisualizationoffisheriesdatainGISisanestablishedpractice,commonapproaches
    totheextensionofGIStotimeseriesdatahasbeenmetwithmixedreviews.Common
    approachestoanalyzingdatawithspatialandtemporaltrendshavefocusedontheuseof
    densitytoolstoproduceheatmaps(Figure1),oranimationstobreakthedataupintoa
    seriesofsnapshotsdisplayingchangesinsomevariableovertime(Figure2).Whilebothof
    thesemethodsprovideagoodmethodforexploringpatternsinthedata,theycontain
    limitationswhenrepresentingthreedimensionaldata(xandylocation,plustime)withatwo
    dimensionalmap.

    13


    Figure1:HeatMapexample

    Figure2:Seriesofsnapshotsfromatimeseriesanimation

    Heatmapsarebeneficialforrepresentingthegeographicdensityofpointfeatures.Theyare
    ofteneasytoremember,andtypicallyutilizecolorrampsshowinghighdensityareasinredand
    lowdensityareasinblue.Whileheatmapscanprovideaspatialsummaryofthedata,theyfall
    shortoftemporalanalysis.Thisisparticularlyevidentwhenpointdataisstacked(samples
    occurringatthesamelocationthroughtime)anditisnecessarytorepresentdatatrendswith
    respecttotime.
    Animationsprovideapowerfulmethodforportrayingpatternsorprogressivechangeover
    time;suchasthoseexhibitedbychangesinsampledistribution,perspective,dataattribute
    levelorgeography.Separatedatasetsmaybegeneratedforperiodsoftimewithinadataset
    (daily,weekly,yearly,etc.),andcanthenbeanalyzedseparatelywithresultspresentedasa
    seriesofmapscapturedinananimation.Whilethisisaneffectivemethodforvisualizing
    temporalandspatialdatatrends,howthedataisdividedissomewhatarbitraryandmultiple
    animationsmaybeneededtouncovertemporalandspatialpatterns.Additionally,thefocusof
    animationscanbeplacedtooheavilyonthebeginningandendstagesofthedatawithreduced
    emphasisonintermediatesteps.Audiencesarethereforerequiredtoremembermultipledata
    iterationsatagivenpointtounderstandassociatedtrends.Asaresult,managementdecisions
    basedonanimationsmaybeweightedtooheavilyonthebeforeandaftercomponentsofa
    studyversusgeneratingpoliciesthatreflectanunderstandingoftrends.

    14

    Thegoaloftimeseriesanalysisistopresentdatawithsignificantspatialandtemporalrangesin
    aneasilyunderstoodformatfordiverseaudiences.Onetoolfortimeseriesanalysisisthe
    ArcGISHotSpotAnalysistool.ThetoolusestheGetisOrdGi*statistic,andcanbesetto
    performanalysiswithinaspacetimewindowthatisolatesneighboringsamplingeventsand
    illustrateshotandcoldspotsatintervalswithintheprojecttimeline.Theresultingoutputlayer
    indicatesareaswhereobservedspatialclustersofhighorlowvaluesaremorepronouncedthan
    expectedfromarandomdistributionofthosevalues(Figure3).

    Figure3:OutputlayerfromHotspotAnalysistool;statisticallysignificantclustersofhighvalues(hotspots)and
    lowvalues(coldspots)areindicatedbylargerredandbluecirclesrespectively

    Hotspotanalysesareenhancedbycombiningthetoolslayeroutputwiththreedimensional
    (3D)renderingofthedataonasurfacelikeArcGlobe.Tomaximizetheeffectivenessofthis
    visualizationtechnique,itisadvisabletofirstrunthehotspottoolandthenaddafield
    representingthetimeintervalbetweensamples.Specifically,thistimelapsefieldrepresents
    timepassedbetweenthefirstsamplingeventandeachfollowingevent.Thisfieldisusedasa
    multiplierinamathematicalexpressiontoextrudepointfeaturesona3Dplainandreflect
    temporalprogression(Figure4).In3D,datatrendscanbemoreeasilyvisualizedbecausethe
    addedelevationallowstheaudiencetoseparatethesamplingeventsofonetimeperiodfrom
    another.Byextrudingfeaturesbasedonatimelapsefield,itbecomesclearerwhichfeatures
    arerelatedandwhichareseparatedbytime.3Dvisualizationismosteffectivewithasmaller
    studyareawhenyouhavealimitednumberoffeatures.


    Figure4:ExampleofHotspotAnalysisoutputcombinedwith3DdatarenderinginArcGlobe

    Aswithanypresentation,thepreferredmethodofdatavisualizationmustbepairedwiththe
    intendedaudience,anditisoftenacombinationoftechniquesthatmustbeutilizedto
    effectivelyengagetheaudienceandleaveanimpressionofdatatrends.Thesearejustafew
    toolsthatmayhelpthevisualizationoftimeseriesdata.


    Visualizing highly spatial and temporal data
    KimberlyHyde,NationalMarineFisheriesService,Narragasett
    Satelliteremotesensinggeneratesanextraordinaryamountofhighlyspatialandtemporaldata
    thatcanprovideviewsoftheglobaloceannotattainablebyshipbasedsampling.Visualizing
    qualitativeandquantitativedetailsfromtheselargedatasetsandcomparingthedatawithin
    situormodeleddatacanbeachallenge.Seasonallyaveragedcompositesandanimationsare
    twowaystoqualitativelycompareandcontrastthetemporalandspatialvariabilityofmultiple
    satelliteproducts.Toachieveamorequantitativeanalysis,acommonpracticeistoextract
    regionalmeansfrommappedsatelliteimagery.Simpletimeseriesplotscanshowregional
    differencesamongthesubareasinagiventimeperiod,howevercomparingseveralregions
    overmultipletimeperiodscanbecomedifficult(figure1a).Analternativeapproachistousea
    colorscaletorepresentthemagnitudeoftheproductandtostackthetimeseriesinawaythat
    onecaneasilycomparetheintraandinterannualvariability(figure1b).Theexamplefigure
    providedshowsseasonalchlorophyllavariabilitywithinaregion(e.g.thereisageneralpattern
    ofincreasedchlorophyllconcentrationduringthespringmonthsintheScotianShelfregion),
    interannualvariabilitywithinaregion(e.g.differencesinthetimingandmagnitudeofthe
    springandfallpeaksofchlorophyllintheGulfofMaine),andregionaldifferences(e.g.the
    differencebetweenthesummerchlorophyllconcentrationsintheGeorgesBankandMiddle
    AtlanticBightsubareas).
    2

    Figure1:Twoexamplesofhowtocompareandcontrasttimeseriesdataextractedfromsatelliteimagery:a)
    showsanannualtimeseriesasaseriesoflineplots,andb)usesacolorscaletorepresentthedatavalueand
    stacksmultipleyearsfromagivenregiontogether.

    Asecondwaytocomparespatialdatasets(i.e.satellitedatatomodeloutput,datafromtwo
    differentsatellitesensors,satellitedatafromtwodifferenttimeperiods)istocalculatea
    differenceorratioanomaly(Figure2).Theratioanomalyisthepreferredmethodforlog
    normallydistributeddatasuchaschlorophylla.Intheexamplebelow,theremotelysensed
    chlorophyllconcentration(Figure2a)iscomparedtooutputfromabiogeochemicalmodel
    (Figure2b).Theratioproduct(Figure2c)indicatesthatthemodeloutputhashigher
    concentrations(theyellowtoredcolors)comparedtothesatellitedatathroughoutmostofthe
    modeldomain.Thetwodimensionalhistogram(Figure2d)comparesthesatelliteandmodel
    outputdatainaxyplotandusesacolorscaletorepresentthehistogramfrequency.

    Figure2:Compositeofa)satellitedata,b)modeloutput,c)theratioanomalybetweenthesatellitedataand
    modeloutputandd)atwodimensionalhistogramcomparingthesatellitedataandmodeloutput.Thisfigure
    waspreparedbyK.HydeandadaptedfromHofmannetal.(2011,AnnualReviewofMarineScience3(1):93
    122).

    Amajorchallengeofhighlyspatialandtemporaldataiscreatingqualitativeandquantitative
    visualizationsthatsummarizethedatawhilealsoretainingthefinescaleresolution.Thetwo
    examplespresentedhereworkwellinastaticsetting(e.g.figuresinamanuscript),however
    whenthistypeofdataispresentedinotheroutletssuchaswebsitesandkiosks,developers
    shouldworktocreatevisualizationtoolsthatallowtheusertointeractivelyexplorethismulti
    dimensionaldata.


    Challenges, lessons learned, and a FEW potential visualization solutions for
    synthesizing science to inform Management in south Florida
    ChristopherKelble,AtlanticOceanographic&MeteorologicalLaboratory
    ThetransitionfromsinglesectororsinglespeciesmanagementtomultisectoralEcosystem
    BasedManagement(EBM)requiresthatweprovidemanagementwithusefulvisualizations
    thatsynthesizeourintegratedscientificknowledgeaboutthebiophysicalandhuman
    dimensionsoftheecosystem.Thefirststepinthisprocessistodeveloptoolsthatintegrateour
    knowledgeacrossdisciplinesinamannerthatwillbeusefultoEBM.Tothisendwehave
    developedDriver,Pressure,State,EcosystemService,Response(EBMDPSER)conceptual
    modelsthatsynthesizeourbiophysicalandhumandimensionsknowledgebyhighlightingkey
    ecosystemcharacteristicsandtheirconnectionstoeachotherandhumansociety.Thereare
    often20ormorecomponentsineachmoduleresultingingreaterthan100ecosystem
    4

    componentsintheconceptualmodelandgreaterthan1,000connectionsamongjustthe
    pressures,states,andecosystemservices.

    FigureCK1.TheinfographicforBarrierIslandecosystemsinsouthwestFloridashowsthedominantpressures
    uponthekeystatecomponentsandhumanuseswithintheecosystem.

    Giventheimmensenumberofcomponentsandconnections,itisdifficulttovisuallyrepresent
    thesemodelsinamannerthatiseasilyunderstood,butstillconveysimportant,useful
    information.Onewaytoattempttoachievethisgoalisthroughinfographics(Fig.CK1).These
    infographsicshowthroughcartoonimagesthemajorpressuresimpactingtheecosystem,the
    keycomponentsofthestatemoduleandhumanusesintendedtoyieldthebenefitsfrom
    ecosystemservices.Wediscussedhowtheseinfographicscouldbemodifiedormadeinto
    moviestodepicttheaffectsofpressuresandpotentialmanagementscenarios.
    ThemaingoalofEBMistosustainablyproducetheecosystemservicesthatbenefitsociety.To
    accomplishthisgoalwemustquantifythecumulativeeffectofmultiplepressuresuponthese
    ecosystemservices.Quantifyingtheconnectionsbetweenpressures,states,andecosystem
    servicesintheEBMDPSERmodelleadstothedevelopmentofanetworkmodels.Thisnetwork

    FigureCK2.Abarchartdepictstherelativeimpactofeachpressureonallecosystemservices.

    modelcanbeanalyzedtoconductaholisticriskassessmentthatdeterminesthecumulative
    effectofallpressuresonecosystemservices.Itcanalsobeusedtodeterminethepressures
    causingthemoststressontheentirerangeofecosystemservices.Thisinformationsummarizes
    theimpactofamultitudeofpressuresuponamultitudeofecosystemservicesmakingit
    difficulttovisuallydisplay.Oneoptionsistodevelopabarchartdepictingthecumulative
    impactofeachpressureuponallecosystemservices(Fig.CK2).Theinversecanbedoneto
    showthedegreetowhicheachecosystemserviceisimpactedbythemultitudeofpressures.
    However,theseareoflittleutilityifyouaremakingadecisionbaseduponasingleecosystem
    serviceorpressure.Inthiscaseaspidergraphcouldbeusefulwhichshowstherelativeimpact
    ofeachpressureoneachEcosystemService(Fig.CK3).Theseradarplotsquicklybecome
    difficulttointerpretasthenumberofvariableincreasesandanewvisualizationtechnique
    wouldbepreferred.Thesevisualizationexamplesarepreliminaryattemptstoconveyscientific
    synthesistomanagersattemptingtoimplementEBM.Itisintendedthatalloftheseproducts
    willberefinedandimprovedthroughinteractionswithmanagersandasvisualization
    techniquesadvance.

    FigureCK3.Aradarplotshowstherelativeimpactofeachpressureoneachecosystemservice.


    Dynamic conceptualization of habitat
    JohnManderson,NEFSC;GavinFay,NEFSC;EricFredj,JerusalemCollegeofTechnology;Josh
    Kohut,RutgersUniversity;ScottLarge,NEFSC
    Habitatsintheseaarefundamentallydefinedbypropertiesandprocessesoftheoceansfluid.
    Carefullydesignedecologicalmodelsincludingspeciesnichemodelscannowbeintegrated
    withhydrodynamicmodelstodevelophydrodynamicinformationsystems(HIS).HIScanthen
    6

    beusedtovisualizeandanalyzethedynamicsofkeyecosystemprocesses,includingseascape
    andhabitatdynamicsinthewaythatgeographicinformationsystems(GIS)areusedtovisualize
    andanalyzeterrestriallandscapeandhabitatdynamics.WehavedevelopedaHISthat
    integratedasimplethermalnichemodelforanimportantforagespeciesinthemidAtlantic
    Bightwithtemperaturehindcastsfrom19572007derivedfromaRegionalOceanModeling
    Systemmodel.TheHISallowedustovisualizethermalhabitatdynamicsandtocalculate
    statisticsdescribingtemporaldynamicsofspatialhabitatcharacteristicsthatcouldinfluence
    importantprocessesregulatingthedynamicsoftheregionalpopulationaswellasstrongly
    interactingspecies.Weperformedpreliminarystatisticalanalysestoinvestigaterelationships
    betweenseascapeindicesandecosystemresponseswithinaDrivingforcePressureState
    ImpactResponse(DPSIR)indicatorframework.


    Designing geospatial data visualizations for a general audience
    TomButkiewicz,CenterforCoastal&OceanMapping,UniversityofNewHampshire
    Dynamicoceansimulationsaregeneratingincreasinglycomplexmultilayer3Doceanmodels
    containingdepthvaryingflowvectors,temperature,salinity,etc.However,many
    oceanographersandothermarinescienceresearchersarestillusingtraditional2Dsoftwareto
    consumethisdata.Properlydesigned3Dvisualizationtoolscanbehighlyeffectivefor
    performinganalysiswithin,andrevealingthecomplex,dynamicflowpatternsandstructures
    presentinthesemodels.
    CCOMsexperimentaldynamicoceanvisualizationsystemincorporatestheperceptualbenefits
    ofstereoscopicrendering,tobestrevealandillustrate3Dstructuresandpatterns,andmulti
    touchinteraction,allowingfornaturalandefficientnavigationandmanipulationwithin3D
    environments.Exploratoryvisualanalysisisfacilitatedthroughtheuseofahighlyinteractive
    toolsetwhichleveragesasmartparticlesystem.
    Configuringparticleswithspecializedbehaviorscanprovidelimitedsimulationcapabilities.This
    includespollutantreleasescenarios,suchaspredictingthepathoftheoilplumeinthe
    DeepwaterHorizonoilspill,orthepathofradioactivecoolantfromtheFukushimanuclear
    disaster.Habitatmappingcansimilarlybesupportedbymodelinglarvaltransport,etc.(Figure
    1).
    Otherusesincludeplanningsurveymissionswithinforecastedflowmodels,toplotcoursesthat
    takeadvantageofcurrentstomaximizeenergybudgets.Realtimedatafromremotesensors,
    suchastheARGOfloatnetwork,canbedirectlycomparedtothesimulationspredictions,
    allowingformodelvalidationanddetectionofsensormalfunctions(Figure2).
    7

    Thissystemwasdesignedtobemoreintuitive,andallowfordirectinteractionwithonscreen
    elements.Comparedtomostcommercialanalysispackages,itrequiresfarlesstrainingtouse,
    makingiteasierforthegeneralpublictoutilize.Theinterfaceencouragesexploratoryanalysis,
    wheretheusercanquicklytryoutmanydifferentideasandanalyseswithouttheburdenoffirst
    rigidlydefiningparameters(Figure3).Thiscanleadtothediscoveryofmoreinsightsthat
    mightotherwisebemissed.
    ThisstyleofintuitiveexploratoryanalysisisalsocentraltothesuccessoftheUrbanGrowth
    DecisionSupportSystem.TheUGDSSallowsstakeholdersandothermembersofthegeneral
    publictoperformsimplespatialanalysesontheoutputofacomplexurbangrowthsimulation.
    Byprovidinganumberofeasytousetoolsforvisuallyqueryingthedata,theuserscan
    investigatetheirownregionsofinterest(Figure4).Whentheusercomparesregionsof
    interest,thesystemautomaticallydetectsanypotentiallymisleadingfactorsthattheuser
    mightbeunawareof.Italertstheusertotheseissues,andprovidessemiautomatedmethods
    forrefiningtheirregionstorectifythem(Figure5).

    Figure1.Interactivepathediting.


    Figure2.RealtimedatafromRTOFSARGOfloatsfacilitatescomparison.

    Figure3.Multipolepathcomparisons.


    Figure4.Ecosystemusecomparisons.

    10


    Figure5.Exampleworkspaceofregionsofinterestcomparisons.

    11

    Dealing with scientific and communication uncertainty through data


    visualization
    HowardTownsend,NMFS/OHC/NCBO
    Ecosystembasedmanagement(ebm)iscomplexandfraughtwithuncertainties.Ecosystems
    arecomplexandinteractionsarenonintuitive.Keepingtrackofthemwithdataismessy.Trying
    tounderstandandmanagethemisdifficultbutnecessary.Understandingtheuncertainty
    associatedwithebmandproperlycommunicatingtheuncertaintyshouldhelpthetransition
    towardsebm.Ecosystemscientistsandmodelershavetakenstepstocategorizetheuncertainty
    associatedwithebm(Figure1).
    Modelershavedevelopedapproachesforvisualizingdataandmodeloutputtodemonstrate
    thescientificuncertainty(e.g.,naturalvariability,observationerror,andstructuralcomplexity);
    however,somemanyoftheseapproachesresultinfairlycomplexoutput.Typicalapproaches
    foruncertaintyinclude:usingMonteCarlosimulationstoincorporatenaturalvariabilityand
    observationerror,usingmultiplemodelstoaccountforstructuraluncertaintyinmodels,and
    usingmultiplescenariostoaccountforoutcomeuncertainty.Theseapproachesareveryuseful
    forscientificuncertainty,butoftenaddtothecomplexityofoutputpresentedtomanagersand
    mayexacerbatemanagementassociateduncertainty.
    Ecosystemscientistsandmodelersalsoneedtoconsiderthemanagementuncertainties(e.g.,
    specificityandcommunicationuncertainty).Mostmanagersarefamiliarwithsinglesectors
    (fisheries,waterquality,etc.),butasebmisanewparadigm,sometimesmanagersmental
    models,basedonsinglesectormanagement,conflictwithwhattheecosystemmodelsare
    showing.Overcomingthiscognitivegaprequireslotsofcommunicationsanddifferent
    approachesofdemonstratingdataiterativetwowayinteractions(theSubwaymethod)and
    sometoolsthatallowdataexploration.Thisisdifficultbecauseoftimeconstraintson
    managersandmodelers.
    Interactivedatavisualizationtechniquesholdpromiseforfacilitatingiterativetwowaydata
    andmodeloutputexplorationandovercomemanagementuncertainties.Frequentlywithstatic
    presentations,ecosystemscientistsandmodelersarelimitedtodemonstratingportionsofa
    modeloutputtocommunicatefocalpointsforebmtechnicalguidanceforagiven;however,
    staticrepresentationofcomplexecosystemsdoesnotallowtheflexibilityofdemonstrating
    otheraspectsoftheecosystem.Asafocalpointofanecosystemisdemonstratedtomanagers,
    questionsaboutotherportionsoftheecosystemmayarise.Developingstaticvisualizationsof
    allcomponentsofcomplexecosystemsisnotfeasible,sousingdynamicvisualizationtools
    allowsflexibilitytorespondtomanagersquestionsandfacilitatesaniterative,twoway
    explorationofdataandmodeloutputs.HansRoslingprovidesagooddemonstrationof
    12

    interactivedatavisualizationanddataexploration(http://ed.ted.com/lessons/hansrosling
    showsthebeststatsyouveeverseen).

    Structural
    complexity
    Natural
    variability

    Observation
    error
    Ecosystem model

    Natural aquatic
    system

    What
    we
    know

    Sampling, data collection

    What we
    dont
    know

    Communication
    uncertainty
    Resource use

    Management
    objectives
    Stakeholders
    Outcome
    uncertainty

    Unclear
    objectives

    Regulations
    (closed areas,
    harvest rates, )

    Ecosystem managers

    Figure1.Sourcesofuncertaintyassociatedwithebm.


    NEFSC Data Server: access & visualization with Python
    JimManning,NOAA/NEFSC
    Thesimpleideaofpostingcomputercodeinadditiontodatawasexpressed.Whileweare
    promotingtheuseofPYTHONcodeasanalternativetoMATLAB,theactuallanguageis
    secondarytotheprimaryideaofsharingcode.Thetalkoutlinedthehistoryofoureffortsfrom
    theinitialformationoftheWoodsHolePythonUsersGroupinmid2011throughourpresent
    daydirectionsonhowwehopetoproceed.Thiswasanintroductorypresentationleadingup
    torelatedandmoredetailedinformationtobedeliveredinSignell'sandDiStephano's
    subsequenttalks.
    Asapointofmotivation,itisdifficulttobuildawebsitethatcanbeusefultoalltypesofusers.
    GiventhequantityofthedatathatisservedthroughtheNEFSCOceanographyBranchwebsite
    (profiles,trawldata,mooringtimeseries,driftertracks,planktondistributions),forexample,it
    13

    ishardtoprovideagraphicaluserinterfaceandmappingtoolthatwouldbeidealforall
    disciplinesandlevelofscientificinquiry.Instead,wehopetopointtorepositoriesofopen
    sourcecodethatuserscandownloadandrunontheirownmachine.Thiscodewillallowthem
    tobothaccessthedataaccordingtospecificcriteriaandplotitinavarietyofways.Withalittle
    experimentationandpractice,theyshouldbeabletomodifythecodetogetexactlywhatthey
    need.
    AnothermotivationfortheprojectarisesfromtherecentcallforSTEMactivitiesinthe
    classroom.Sincewearenowfocusingonopensourcesoftware,wecanoffertheseroutinesto
    teacherswhocaninstructtheirstudentstodomorethannavigatecomplicatedwebsites.They

    Figure1.Observedandmodeledwatertemperaturebasedinlobstertrapsensor.

    canactualinstalltheprogramsontheirmachines,learntorunsimpleplottingpackages,and
    perhapsbegintoappreciatetheartofcomputerprogramming.Weareintheprocessof
    writingaproposaltoNOAA'sEnvironmentalLiteracyGrantProgramtosuggestthisstrategyof
    exploringNOAAdata.
    Whileitwasnotpossibletorunattheconference,acoupleofsimpleexampleswereprepared
    todemonstratetheidea.Oneprogramaccessesbothobservedandmodeledoceanbottom
    temperaturesfromaparticularsiteandplotstheirtimeseries(figure1).Anotheroverlays
    multiplevariableslikeSST,CODARsurfacecurrents,anddriftertracksonamap.Inallcases,the
    dataisstoredonremotemachinesandisaccessibleviaIOOSdatastandards.Whilestillunder
    developmentandnotwelldocumented,thecodeisstoredonthejamespatrickmanning
    GitHubcoderepositorywithSphinxdocumentation.

    14

    Web access, analysis and visualization of standardized oceanographic and


    meteorological data
    RichSignell,USGS
    Thistalkfocusedontheimportanceofwebservicesandcommondatamodelstoallow
    developerstoefficientlyandeffectivelywriteapplicationstoaccessstructuredand
    unstructuredgridmodeloutputandotherstandarddatatypes,suchastimeseries,profiles,
    swathsandtrajectories.AsystembasedonUnidatatechnologieshasbeendeployed
    throughouttheIntegratedOceanObservingSystem(IOOS)andhasmadedozensofmodels
    throughoutall11IOOSregionsavailablethroughcommonservices,withoutforcingmodel
    providerstorewritetheirnonstandardmodeloutput(Figure1).AlayerofXML(NetCDF
    MarkupLanguageNcML)iscreatedthatmapsexistingdataintothecommondatamodelby
    providingmissingmetadata,whichthenbecomesavailableviaavarietyofstandardservices.
    ThesuccessofthistechniquewithmodeloutputhasledIOOStostartdeliveringtimeseries,
    profilesandotherdataviathistechnique.ThisallowsgenericapplicationslikeIDVtoaccess
    datafrommanydifferentmodelswithoutregardtomodelspecifics(Figure2).

    Figure1.ModeldatainteroperabilitydiagramforIOOS.

    15

    Figure2.VisualizationoftwocommondatamodeldatasetsstreamlinesfromtheWRFatmosphericmodeland
    bottomtemperaturesandasalinityisosurfacefromtheUniversityofMainePOMoceanmodel.

    16

    Oceanographic data and dataservices at PacIOOS, a regional association of


    IOOS
    JamesPotemra,PacIOOS
    TheIntegratedOceanObservingSystem(IOOS)isorganizedaround11regionalassociations
    (RA).ThePacificIslandsOceanObservingSystem(PacIOOS)istheRAfortheinsularPacific,
    includingtheStateofHawaii.ThemainpurposeofPacIOOSistoprovidetimely,useful
    informationabouttheoceanenvironmenttoawidevarietyofusers.PacIOOSisconsideredan
    endtoendsysteminthesensethatwiththesystemareoceanobservingplatforms
    (autonomousgliders,buoys,moorings,etc.),numericalmodels,andremoteobservations,but
    PacIOOSalsomaintainsasetofdataserversthatprovidethedata(anddataderivedproducts)
    tothegeneralpublic.
    Theforecastmodelsandobservationsaregearedaroundprovidinginformationinfourgeneral
    areas:coastalhazards,maritimesafety,waterqualityandoceancirculation.Usersofthis
    informationincludeeverythingfromrecreationalswimmers,fishermen,managementand
    planningentities,searchandrescuepersonnel,etc.
    WebaccessisobviouslyakeycomponenttothePacIOOSdatasystem.Themainaccess
    mechanismisviaamapbasedbrowsingtool.ThebackendsystemisbuiltuponOPeNDAP
    services,mainlyTHREDDS.THREDDS,orthematicrealtimeenvironmentaldistributeddata
    system,wasdevelopedatUnidataandprovidesdirect,binaryaccesstodata.AtPacIOOS,
    THREDDSisusedtobothtoexposeallthedatabutalsotoprovidedataviaservicestothe
    PacIOOSviewers.
    Themainviewer,http://pacioos.org/voyager,allowsuserstogenerateoverlaysofany/all
    PacIOOSdatainamapbasedview(seeFigure1).Thedataarelistedattheleftofthescreen,
    anduserscanselectspecifictimes,geographicand/ortemporalrangesandgenerateacustom
    map.ThebackgroundisbasedontheGooglemapAPI,andmostoverlaysaregeneratedonthe
    flybytakingadvantageoftheTHREDDSwebmapservice(WMS).Onceuserscreateamapof
    interest,thereareoptionsatthetoptoeithersavetheimageforprintingorsavingalinktothe
    exactimage(e.g.,toincludeitintoawebpageortoemailtosomeone).
    Inadditiontothisdatabrowsingtool,PacIOOSalsooffersageospatialserverbasedon
    GeoServerandOpenLayers(http://pacioos.org/geoexplorer)andseveralpregenerated
    informationanddatabasedproducts,suchaparticletrajectorymaps,highwaterforecasts,
    inundationplots,andmore.

    17


    Figure1.ExamplemapoverlayfromPacIOOSVoyager(http://pacioos.org/voyager).

    18

    Data and visualization integration via web based resources


    MassimoDiStefano,WHOI
    Developmentofcyberinfrastructuretofacilitatecollaborationandknowledgesharingfor
    marineIntegratedEcosystemAssessments(IEAs).
    Themaintoolisbasedonawebapplication(IPythonNotebook)thatprovidestheabilityto
    workonverydiverseandheterogeneousdataandinformationsources,providinganeffective
    waytosharethesourcecodeusedtogeneratedataproductsandassociatedmetadataaswell
    assaveandtracktheworkflowprovenancetoallowthereproducibilityofadataproduct.

    Here,isasimplifiedschematicofthesoftwaredesign,startingwithasourcedatasetandending
    withafinalproductforanEcosystemStatusReport.
    Akeyfeatureisthatmetadata,embeddedinthefinalproduct,areacquiredduringthe
    processingandplottingofthedata.
    Inthiswayweareabletorecordtheprovenanceneededtoreproducethedataproducts.
    WeareusingtheIPythonNotebookastoolforcollaborativedataProcessing,workflow
    ProvenanceandprodutsPublishing.
    IPython(InteractivePython)canberuninteractivelyoverthewebprovidingtotheuseran
    effectivewaytoworkonhisdata.
    HereinanexamplesessionshowingtheIPythonNotebookinterfaceusedtoruninteractively
    thecodetoproducesomefiguresfortheNESLMEEcosystemStatusReportandtoexecute
    somegeospatialdataanalisysusingtoolslikeGRASSGISasGeographicInformationSystem,R
    forstatisticalanalysisincombinationwithotherfreeandopensourcesoftwaretools.

    19

    20

    Visualizing Fitness for Purpose


    RobertGroman,WHOI
    TheBiologicalandChemicalOceanographyDataManagementOffice(BCODMO)worksin
    partnershipwithoceanscienceinvestigatorstopublishdatafromresearchprojectsfundedby
    theBiologicalandChemicalOceanographySectionsandtheOfficeofPolarProgramsAntarctic
    Organisms&EcosystemsProgram(OPPANT)attheU.S.NationalScienceFoundation.Since
    2006,researchershavebeencontributingdatatotheBCODMOdatasystem,andithas
    developedintoarichrepositoryofdatafromocean,coastalandGreatLakesresearch
    programs.TheendgoalsoftheBCODMOaretoensurepreservationofNSFfundedproject
    dataandtoprovideopenaccesstothosedata.
    BCODMOhasdevelopedanendtoenddatastewardshipprocessthatincludesallphasesof
    thedatalifecycle:(1)workingwithinvestigatorsattheproposalstagetohelpthemwritetheir
    datamanagementplan;(2)registeringtheirfundedprojectatBCODMO;(3)addingdataand
    supportingdocumentationtotheBCODMOdatarepository;(4)providinggeospatialandtext
    baseddataaccesssystemsthatsupportdatadiscovery,access,display,assessment,integration,
    andexportofdataresources;(5)exploringmechanismsforexchangeofdatawith
    complementaryrepositories;(6)publicationofdatasetstoprovidepublishersofthepeer
    reviewedliteraturewithcitablereferences(DigitalObjectIdentifiers)andtoencourageproper
    citationandattributionofdatasetsinthefutureand(7)submissionoffinaldatasetsfor
    preservationintheappropriatelongtermdataarchive.
    Weprovidebothatextbasedandgeospatialinterfacetothedatawemanage(see
    http://www.bcodmo.org).Ouruseofvisualizationtoolsandtechniquesaretheretohelp
    potentialusersofthedatawemanagetofindthedata,assessfitnessforpurpose,and
    eventuallydownloadthedatatheyneedfromoursite.Tothisend,weofferseveraltypesof
    plotsandvisualizations,consistentwiththetypeofdatabeingviewed,includingXYplots
    (Figure1),biologicalabundanceplots(Figure2),timeseriesplots(Figure3),andexportedKML
    filestoGoogleEarth(Figure4).Contacts:RobertC.GromanandM.DickyAllison
    Alistofourlessonslearnedandrecommendationsincludethefollowing:
    Agooduserinterfacetodatashouldhaveeffectivevisualizationtoolstoaidtheinvestigatorin
    determiningwhetherdatawillbeusefultothem.
    CanwebeAllthingstoallpeople?Wecantry,andoneoftheimportantrequirementsis
    informationaboutthedata.
    Toolsmustbedatadriven,andmetadataenablesthis.

    21

    Attributesofdatafitnessincludedatalocation,datatype,acquisitiondateandtime,dataand
    metadataquality,andthemethodologyusedtocollectandprocessthedata.
    Afundamentalprerequisiteforonlinedatavisualizationisthatinvestigatorsmustbewillingto
    sharetheirdata.
    Therichertheonlineoptions,themorecomplexthesystemistouse.Helptext,videohelpfiles,
    andcarefulprogramming(suchasgooddefaultvalues)canmediatethis.
    Recognizethatdifferentaudiencesrequiredifferentinterfaces.Thisaddstodevelopmenttime
    andcost,andcanreduceonesfocus.

    Figure1:XYplotFigure2:Abundanceplot

    Figure3:TimeseriesplotFigure4:ExportedKMLfiletoGoogleEarth

    22

    Visualizations of Habitat and Siting Decisions


    MichaelParke,NationalMarineFisheriesService
    ThePacificIslandsFisheriesScienceCenterconductsavarietyofvisualizationeffortsthatare
    designedtosupporthabitatdelineationandanalysis,stockassessments,ecosystembased
    managementandmarinespatialplanning.Ourbenthichabitatmappinggroupusesmultibeam
    sonars,multiplecameraplatformsandinstruments,anddiverobservationstogeneratedata
    thatarevisualizedandanalyzedusinggeographicinformationsystems.Atypicalproductfroma
    multibeamdataanalysiswouldbearepresentationofgeomorphologicalstructuresusinga
    secondorderbathymetryderivativecalledbathymetricpositionindex.Byexplicitly
    incorporatingdataextractedfromtowedvideos,wewereabletovisualizebiologicallysensitive
    areasthatshouldbeavoidedduringanchoringinSaipan.

    23

    PIFSCmodelersandvisualizationexpertsstrivetodeliverproductsthatuseappropriate
    temporalandspatialscales,containadequatedocumentationandmetadata,andoffersome
    measureofuncertainty.Ongoingeffortstovisualizemoreephemeralphenomenathatare
    neededtoimprovestockassessmentsandecosystembasedmanagementsuchasocean
    currentsandtemperatures,boundarylayers,larvaltransport,andlifehistory/habitat
    associationsareconstrainedbylackofdata,especiallyatfinerscales,andmodellimitations.
    OneotherongoingvisualizationeffortisthePIFSCAquacultureMarineMapper
    (www.pifsc.noaa.gov/MarineMapper),awebbasedscreeningandvisualcommunicationtool
    designedtosupportresponsibleoffshoreaquaculturedevelopmentintheMainHawaiian
    Islands.Themainpremiseofthetoolisthatinteractivemapscanbeusedtocommunicate
    oceanographic/ecologicalandocean/landusepatternsandthusempowerpeopletoexplore
    theirworld,tocommunicatetheirvaluesandvisionforthefuture,andtoengagewithothers
    aboutthesevaluesandvisions.
    Thetoolprovidesaccesstopubliclyavailabledata(andmetadata),allowsuserstoviewany
    combinationofthesedatathattheyneed,developcustomizedmaps(visualizations),andruna
    firstpasssiteselectionmodelusinguserdefinedparameters.Itallowsuserstoidentifywhich
    areashavepotentialforaquaculturebasedontheparametersthatareimportanttothem.The
    siteselectionmodelisprimarilydesignedtofacilitatecommunicationacrossusergroups
    (entrepreneurs,regulators,communitygroups)bymakingvaluejudgmentsexplicitand
    providingimmediatevisualizationoftheimpactsofsuchjudgments.Amajorlimitationofthe
    toolisitsinabilitytovisualizeorcalculateriskorvulnerabilityofnaturalsystemstoany
    particularaquacultureoperation.

    24

    Habitat modeling and visualization


    ScottGallager,WoodsHoleOceanographicInstitutionandtheHabCamGroup
    Habitatcharacterizationandpredictivemodelingrequiresintegrationofinformationatmultiple
    spatialandtemporalscalesonbenthicandpelagicbiologicaldistributions,substrate
    composition,geomorphology,watercolumnhydrography,aswellasmanyotherenvironmental
    featureswhichprovidesuitableconditionsfororganismstoflourish.HabCamisatoolthat
    providesauniqueglimpseoftheseafloorthroughopticalandacousticimaging.TheHabCam
    vehiclefliesovertheoceanbottomtakingsiximagespersecondcreatingnoninvasive
    continuousimageribbonsandenvironmentaldatainrealtime.Habitatmodeling(Fig.1)begins

    Figure1.Flowchartfordevelopinghabitatsuitabilitymapsforsinglespeciesandbiologicalcommunities.

    withcreatingstandardsizegeolocatedgridsofpredictorvariablessuchasbathymetry,
    geomorphology(slope,rugosity,andgradientfrombothopticandacousticdata),substrate,
    epifaunacover(e.g.,lacytubeworm,bryozoa,encrusting,sponge,tunicate,etc.)temperature,
    salinity,etc.Thedistributionofpointpresencedataforbiologicaltargetssuchasgroundfish,
    scallops,seastars,etc.isthenoverlaidonthepredictorgrids.Statisticalmodelssuchasgeneral
    additive,linear,randomforests,ormaximumentropyarethenusedtodevelophabitat
    classificationsbasedontrainingdata.Forthisstudywedevelopedavariationofthemaximum
    entropymodelMaxent(Phillipsetal.,2006),wherebybothpresenceandabsencedata
    contributedtothepredictedmodelresults(Fig.2).Themodeloutputforeachtargetspecies
    wasthenspatiallyclusteredintofourormorebiologicalcommunitiesusingallofthepredictive
    rasterandpresencedata.Accuracyofthemodelresultsarecrossvalidatedusingleaveoneout
    procedures.Theresultsaremapsofpredicteddistributionsofindividualspeciesand
    25

    communitiesthatmaybeviewedovertimetoassessvariationasafunctionofenvironmental
    change.

    Figure2.PredictedsuitablehabitatforadultcodandhaddockinthenorthernsectionofClosedAreaII,Georges
    Bankandregionstothewestoftheclosureboundary(blackline).Noteabsenceofsuitablehabitatalongthree
    sandridgesextendingnorthwesttosoutheast.

    26

    Communicating an understanding of lower trophic levels in marine


    ecosystems
    AndyPershing,UniversityofMaine
    ThenorthwestAtlantic,includingtheNEShelfLMEandtheCanadianShelfandLabradorSea
    arechangingrapidly.Inparticular,theLabradorSeaiswarmingfasterthananyregioninthe
    globalocean.Thechangesinthephysicalsettinghavefarreachingimpactsonecosystems
    throughouttheregion,affectingprimaryproductivity,planktoncommunitystructure,fish
    populations,andfisheries.Visualizationisanimportanttoolforunderstandingand
    communicatingthecausesandconsequencesofthesechanges.Formanyglobalchange
    problems,thekeychallengeistohighlightcomponentsthatarechangingrapidly.Removing
    annualcyclesexposeslargedeviationsfromexpectedconditions.Whenvisualizingthese
    deviations,usingacolorschemethatemphasizesthesignratherthanthemagnitudeisuseful.
    Inthislight,the2012SSTanomalystandsoutasthemajorfeatureintheNorthAtlanticlast
    year,andoneofthelargesteventsever.Whencommunicatingwithbroaderaudiences,careful
    thoughtisrequiredtodevelopvisualizationsthatquicklyconveytheintendedmessage.
    However,ascientistexploringdataoftenwantstoseemanyvariablesplottedtogether.These
    uglygraphics,forexamplealargetableofcorrelationsbetweenplanktonabundanceand
    physicalindicators,canbeveryusefulforanindividualscientistforidentifyingpatterns,but
    wouldbeoffputtingtomanyotheraudiences.Oncearesultisidentified,communicatingthat
    result,regardlessofaudience,involvestellingastory.Visualizations,forexample,afoodweb
    highlightingcorrelationsamongspecies,areanimportanttoolintellingthestory,buttheyare
    notthewholestory.Anarrative,eitherthroughtext,video,oralivepresentation,areessential
    forguidingtheviewer/readerthroughthestory.Animationsordiagramscanbeespecially
    helpfulindevelopingthenarrative.

    27

    Find And Visualize NOAA Data: An Overview of the NOAA Earth Information
    System (NEIS) and TerraViz
    JeffSmith,EarthSystemsResearchLaboratory
    TheNOAAEarthInformationServices(NEIS)isaframeworkoflayeredservicesdesignedtohelp
    thediscovery,access,understanding,andvisualizationofdatafromthepast,present,and
    future.ItincludesavisualizationcomponentnamedTerraVizthatisamultiplatformtool,
    runningondesktops,webbrowsers,andmobiledevices.Thegoalistoingest"bigdata"and
    convertthatinformationintoefficientformatsforrealtimevisualization.Designedforaworld
    whereeverythingisinmotion,NEISandTerraVizallowfluiddataintegrationandinteraction
    across4Dtimeandspace,providingatoolforeverythingNOAAdoesandthepeopleNOAA
    affects.
    TerraVizisbuiltusingtheUnitygameengine.Whileagameenginemayseemastrangechoice
    fordatavisualizations,ourphilosophyistotakeadvantageofexistingtechnologywhenever
    possible.Videogamesareamultibilliondollarindustry,andarequitesimplythemost
    powerfultoolsforpushingmillionsofpointsofdatatotheuserinrealtime.Ourpresentation
    illustrateddisplayingenvironmentaldatainTerraVizataglobalscale,visualizingregionaldata
    inscenessuchasthefloodingoftheWashingtonDCareaorrotatingacoastalecosystemin
    threeaxes,anddevelopingenvironmentalsimulations/gameslikeexploringtheoceanfloorina
    submarine.

    TheNEISbackendsimilarlytakeslessonsfromprivateindustryasweuseApacheSolrtoallow
    facetedsearchofNOAAdata,muchassiteslikeAmazonandNetflixdo.

    28

    Webelievethattohaveanimpactonsociety,datashouldbeeasytofind,access,visualize,and
    understand.Pleasecontactusifyouwanttoexploreincludingyourenvironmentaldatawithin
    NEIS/TerraVizorifyouwanttotalktousaboutdevelopingcustomsimulationsorgamesto
    showcaseyourimportantdata.
    DetailedContact:NOAA/EarthSystemResearchLab/GlobalSystemsDivision,Boulder,
    Colorado
    EricHackathornEric.J.Hackathorn@noaa.gov;JulienLyngeJulien.Lynge@noaa.gov;Jeff
    SmithJeff.S.Smith@noaa.gov
    Webresources:NEIS/TerraViz:http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/neis/
    Submarinedemo:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukaln8_ai3c


    Getting to observing data usign the climatology toolkit
    RileyYoungMorse,GulfofMaineResearchInstitute
    Isthewaterwarmerthisyearthanitwaslastyear?Thisisoneofthemostcommonlyasked
    questionsbyusersoftheNortheasternRegionalAssociationofCoastalandOceanObserving
    Systems(NERACOOS).Tohelpanswerthisquestion,ateamofdataprovidersandproduct
    developersatNERACOOSsetouttodevelopanonlineinteractiveclimatologyvisualizationthat
    wouldenableusersofthesystemtoseethedataandanswerthatquestionforthemselves.
    TheresultisatoolcalledtheNERACOOSWeatherandClimateDisplay
    (http://www.neracoos.org/datatools/climatologies).Thetoolconsistsofaninteractiveline
    chartthatdisplaysthetimeseriesclimatologydataasabackgroundshadedarea,withthemin
    29

    monthlyandmaxmonthlymeanscreatingtheupperandlowerboundaries.Themeanofthe
    fullclimatologyisplottedaswelltomakeupthestaticbackground.Userscanchooseabuoy
    location,parameteranddepth,andthebackgroundwillautomaticallyupdatewiththerelevant
    climatologydata.Additionally,themeansofagivenyeararedisplayedabovethestatic
    climatology,andcanbeeasilychangedusingnavigationbuttons.Bymousingoveranypointon
    thechart,theprecisevaluesaredisplayedtotheuser.Additionally,thefulldatatablecanbe
    displayedtoaccessanddownloadthedataforfurtheranalysisindesktoptoolsofchoice.

    Figure1:2012dailyclimatologyofwatertemperatureat1mdepthforBuoyA

    Thebuoydataprovidersdevelopedacommonprotocolforcalculatingthedaily,weeklyand
    monthlyclimatologystatisticsforeachbuoy,parameterandeachdepth.Thestatistics
    calculatedinclude:count,mean,median,mode,min,max,stddev,pct0.5,pct02.5,pct97.5,
    pct99.5,IQR(25%,50%).ThefilesareoutputascsvfilesintoawebaccessibleFTPdirectory.
    Additionalautomatedtasksincludecalculationofcurrentyeardailymeansattheendofeach
    day,andmonthlymeansattheendofeachcalendarmonth.Therangeofavailabledatato
    calculatetheclimatologieswasdifferentforeachbuoy,withsomegoingasfarbackas2001.
    Thebackgroundclimatologieswillbeupdatedattheendofeachyear.
    Onthewebinterfaceside,aJavaScriptplottinglibrarycalledFLOTwasusedtocreatetheweb
    basedviewer.ScriptsweredevelopedtoparsethecsvfilesandoutputintoJSON(JavaScript
    ObjectNotation)format,anobjectorienteddatainterchangeformatusedbytheJavaScript
    FLOTlibrary.Thisprocessisautomatedforahighlyinteractive,uptodatedisplay.

    30

    Futureplansincludedevelopmentofamapbasedinterface,additionaldatasetsand
    parameters,anddisplayofmorestatisticalinformationforadvancedusers.Thetoolhas
    generatedtremendousinterestdemonstratingthevalueofdeliveringcomplexinformationina
    simple,interactiveformattoreachandengageawidevarietyofusers.


    Developing a climate data visualization tool for marine ecosystem managers
    KarstenShein,NOAANationalClimaticDataCenter,Asheville,NC28801,
    Karsten.Shein@noaa.gov,(828)2714223
    TheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministrationisresponsiblebothforthecollectionand
    archivalofavastproportionofthedatacollectedfromthenationsenvironmentalmonitoring
    activities,aswellasprovidingstewardshipoverthenationsmarineecosystemsandthe
    valuableecosystemservicestheyprovidetosociety.Inordertoensurethelatter,data
    availableviatheformermustbeaccessibleandprovidedinwaysthatmarineecosystem
    managerscanreadilycomprehend.
    Overthepastfewdecades,theimpactsofclimatevariabilityandchangeonmarineecosystems
    havebecomemoreacuteandareacknowledgedasasignificantthreattotheirsustainable
    futures.However,althoughthereisagreatquantityofclimatedataheldbyNOAA,anda
    varietyoftoolsbywhichthesedatamaybeobtainedanddisplayed,marineecosystem
    managersarefacedwithseveralobstaclesintheirattemptstotransformrawclimatedatainto
    meaningfulvisualizationscapableofsupportingsoundmanagementdecisions.
    Chiefamongtheseobstaclesarethe(1)lackofuniformityindatasetaccessandformat,(2)the
    requirementthatdatafirstbeobtainedbeforeitmaybevisualized,and(3)therequirement
    thatmanagersnotonlyunderstandwhatdatatheyrequireandwheretheymaybefound,but
    alsothattheyunderstandwhichofseveralsimilardatasetsmaybemostappropriateto
    addressagivenmanagementquestion.Whatismore,thereexistfewdataaccesstoolsthat
    includetheabilitytovisualizethedata.Thisisanimportantissue,becausethevisualizationof
    dataoftenaidsauserindeterminingwhatdataaretrulyimportanttoaparticularmanagement
    question.Withouttheabilitytovisualizethedata,amanagermustblindlydownloadall
    availabledata,andthenexpungeanydatathattheirsubsequentvisualizationdeemsirrelevant.
    Thispresentsanunnecessaryburdenonthemanagerstime,theserver,andonbandwidth.In
    anefforttobetteraddresstheneedsofmarineecosystemmanagersandovercomethese
    barriers,aNOAAwidegrouphascreatedtheIntegratedMarineProtectedAreaClimateTools
    (IMPACT)project,withinwhichdataaccessandvisualizationtoolsarebeingdeveloped.The
    overarchinggoalofIMPACTwastoensurethatdataaccess,visualization,andunderstanding
    werebaseduponthemanagementquestionsbeingposed,andthereforecouldoptimizethe
    31

    resourcesneededtofacilitatetheidentification,access,visualization,anduseofappropriate
    data.
    WCTIMPACT
    OnesuchtoolistheWCTIMPACTsoftware.NOAAsNationalClimaticDataCenter(NCDC)has
    beenworkingwiththeGulfoftheFarallonesNationalMarineSanctuary(GOFNMS)Ocean
    ClimateCentertoenhanceandexpandthefunctionalityofNOAAsWeatherandClimate
    Toolkit(WCT).TheWCT(Fig.1)isafreelyavailable,Javabasedtool
    (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/wct/)designedtoaccessanddisplayavarietyofNCDCs
    georeferencedclimatedataproducts(e.g.,satellite,radar,reanalysis).However,theWCT
    requirestheusertohavealreadyidentifiedadatasetofinterestandgainedaccesstoit.This
    canlimititsutilitybyuserswhoarenotknowledgeableaboutwhichdatasetsarerelevantto
    theirneedsandwherethosedatasetscanbefound.TheIntegratedMarineProtectedArea
    ClimateTools(IMPACT)prototypemodificationtotheWCTeliminatesthoserequirements.
    Instead,WCTIMPACTcouplesauserqueryapproachwithaquasiexpertsystemthat
    determines,retrieves,andloadstheappropriatedataproductsforvisualizationandanalysisby
    theuser.Relevantdataproductsareidentifiedbasedontheenvironmentalvariablesinwhich
    ecosystemmanagershaveindicatedareimportanttotheirecosystems.

    Figure2.NOAA'sWeatherandClimateToolkitimageofNARRAnonconvectivecloudcover(%)overthePacific
    CoastonJune17,2012at09:00GMT.

    32

    AtthecoreofWCTIMPACTisaneedsassessmentthatwasconductedthroughinteractiveand
    iterativedialogbetweenNCDCprogrammersandGOFNMSmanagersandscientists.Thisdialog
    onceagainhighlightedtheaforementionedbarrierstodataacquisition,visualizationanduse.
    Toaddressthedataaccessbarrier,climatedatamanagersidentifiedseveralofNOAAsClimate
    DataRecords(CDRs)thatwouldprovidereliable,defensible,andhomogeneousinformation
    aboutenvironmentalvariablesthathadbeenidentifiedbythemarinemanagersandscientists
    asimportanttoaddressingtheirclimaterelatedquestions.DirectaccesswasbuiltintoWCT
    IMPACTviaanindexfilethateliminatedtherequirementthatauserknowwhere,andinwhat
    formatthedataresidesbeforeitcanbeaccessed.Inadeparturefromcurrentdata
    managementpractices,thevariablenamescontainedinthedatafile(e.g.,irwin)werereplaced
    withthenamesthatmarinemanagersassociatewiththedata(e.g.,cloudcover).Toenhance
    understandingofwhatdatawerebeingaccessed,whatcoveragewasavailable,andwhat
    exactlywasbeingdescribedbythedata,NCDCclimatologistsalsoincludedaninformation
    buttonthat,whenselected,displaysapopupwindowwithadescriptionofthedataandalink
    tomorecompletemetadata.
    Furthermore,WCTIMPACThasthefunctionalitytodisplaydataasanindividualtimesliceover
    theareaofinterest,orifarangeoftimeisspecified,asananimation.Theanimationfeature
    canbeespeciallyhelpfulforassistingamanagerindeterminingthedegreeofvariabilitythat
    mayexistwithinthedata,ortoboundperiodswhenenvironmentalconditionsmayhave
    exceededacriticalthresholdvalue.
    AkeyaspectofWCTIMPACTisthatitisaJavatool,ratherthanaWebbasedtool.Thisallows
    ittobeusedonacomputerthatisnotconnectedtotheInternet.Theadvantagesinclude
    beingabletovisualizedatawhileworkinginthefield,ormodifyingananimationbasedon
    feedbackfromastakeholderorpolicymakerduringabriefingataremotesite.WCTIMPACT
    notonlyaccessesdatafromremoteservers,butalsocanaccessthedatastoredlocallyonthe
    PC.Thus,adatasetmaybesubsettedoffNCDCsservers,storedasafileonalaptop,andthen
    bereferencedwiththesoftwarewithoutafurtherInternetconnection.Thiscanbevery
    importantformanagerswhohavelimitedorcostlyaccesstotheInternet.Locallycollected
    datafilesmayalsobevisualizedinWCTIMPACTiftheyarestoredinarecognized
    georeferencedformat.
    VisualizationNeeds
    Whenitcomestothevisualizationofthedata,ecosystemmanagerswereingeneralagreement
    thattherewerecertainconsiderationsneededtoachieveaneffectivemarineecosystem
    managementtoolforclimatedata.Firstofall,thetoolhadtobeaonestopshop.The
    managerwantedaccesstotherelevantdatadirectlyfromthesoftware.Thisisachieved
    throughtheWCTIMPACTdataaccesscode.Secondly,managerswantatoolthatdoesnt
    33

    requireasteeplearningcurve,orcomplexstepsinordertogettoavisualizationofthedata.
    Theconsensuswasthatthetoolsinterfaceshouldhavealookandfeelthatdoesnotdiffer
    dramaticallyfromtoolswithwhichtheyarefamiliar.Thetoolinterfaceshouldalsobesimple,
    givinganoviceusertheabilitytointuitivelycreateabasicvisualization,butwithmorecomplex
    optionsavailablethroughtabsormenus.
    Currently,theWCTIMPACTtoolhasaseparatecontrolwindowandvisualizationwindow.A
    complaintbymanagerswasthatonsmallerscreens(i.e.,laptop),onewindowwouldinevitably
    obscuretheother,andwithmanywindowsopen,thecontrolwindowcouldbecomeburied
    withnooptiontobringitforward.WCTIMPACTdevelopersarecurrentlyconsideringasingle
    windowtabbedversionofthesoftwaresothatausermayquicklytransitionbetweenallactive
    windowswithinthetool.
    Managersalsostatedtheimportanceofbeingabletovisualizetwoormorevariablesinthe
    samedisplay(e.g.,GISlayers).However,whenoverlaid,itbecomesdifficulttodifferentiate
    colorschemesandpattersfromeachindividualvariable.WCTIMPACTdevelopersfirstthought
    tocombineshadedreliefwithvectorcontours,howeversuchfunctionalityisacomplex
    undertaking.Instead,itwasdecidedtoprovideamultiframewindow(Fig.2),whereuptofour
    variablescouldbedisplayedsimultaneouslyandinsynchronization.Whenoneframeis
    repositionedand/orzoomedinspace,orcycledintime,theothers,whenlinked,mirrorthe
    alteration.

    Figure3.FourframedatavisualizationwindowfromtheWCTIMPACTsoftware.

    Inaddition,managersrequestedthatavisualizationtoolalsohavethecapacitytoperformat
    leastbasicanalysesofthedata.Theseincludedthedisplayofsums,averages,differences,
    34

    anomalies,probabilities,extremes,andtrends.Furthermore,amanagershouldhavethe
    optionofsavingthedisplaysalongwiththedatalocally,forexporttoothersoftware(e.g,
    GoogleEarth)orforinsertingintoreportsandpublications(e.g.,briefingmaterials,factsheets).
    Formanagers,oneofthemostcommonusesforvisualizationsoftwareistoprovidevisualaids
    forexplainingaparticularphenomenontopolicymakers,stakeholders,orthepublic.
    SUMMARY
    TheWCTIMPACTdataaccessandvisualizationtoolhasbeendevelopedspecificallytoaddress
    thestatedneedsofmarineecosystemmanagerstocombinedataaccessanddatavisualization,
    anddeliverrelevantclimateinformationtosupportmanagementdecisions,develop
    ecosystemscaleclimateassessments,andproducevisualaidsinsupportofeducationand
    outreacheffortstothepublic,stakeholders,andpolicymakers.Ateverystepofdevelopment,
    marineecosystemmanagershavebeenincludedintheframingofrequirements,sothatnot
    onlyisthetooldevelopedtobeofoptimalusebythem,butthattheclimatedatamanagers
    whomaintainthetoolalsobecomemoreawareoftheneedsofthemarineecosystem
    community.Featuresareincludedbecausethemarinemanagershaveaskedforthem,rather
    thanbecausethedatamanagersdesirethetooltoserveeverypossibleneedofeverypossible
    user.WCTIMPACTiscurrentlystillinaprototypestage,butisexpectedtobereleased
    operationallywithintheupcomingmonths,viaNCDCswebsite.

    35

    Contributions via Correspondence

    TheMultiscaleIntegratedModelofEcosystemServices(MIMES)isamodelingframework
    designedtoaddressthemagnitude,dynamics,andspatialpatternsofecosystemserviceflows,
    values,andtradeoffs.Theoreticalprinciples,expertknowledge,anddataderivedrelationships
    areusedtolinkdiversetypesofinformationaboutasystem.TheMIMESmodelcouplesthe
    humanandnaturalsubsystemsbyconsideringtheinterdependenciespresentwithinand
    betweenthenaturalandhumanspheresthatmakeupanecosystem.Inaddition,MIMES
    providesananalyticalframeworkforunderstandingtheecosystemlevelconsequencesof
    scenariosthatreflectspecificmanagementdecisions.Themodeloutputsareusedto
    understandecosystemservicetradeoffsthatoccurinspaceandtimeasaresultofspecific
    managementdecisionsorenvironmentalshifts(e.g.climatechange).MIMEShasbeenapplied
    toanumberofcasestudies.Recenteffortshavebeenfocusedonunderstandingacoastaland
    nearshoreenvironmentinnorthernMassachusettsthatencompassesalargeportionof
    MassachusettsBayandStellwagenBankNationalMarineSanctuary.Forthiscasestudytwo
    setsofresourcemanagementscenarioswereexplored.ForageFishscenariosconsiderthe
    effectsofchangingcommercialfishingratesandtargetedspeciesofforagefishesincludingthe
    impactsofopeningafisheryonsandlancespecies(notcurrentlytargetedbycommercial
    fishing)andchangingratesoffishingonherringspecies(currentlytargetedbycommercial
    fishingortakenasbycatch).Resultsdemonstratetradeoffsrelatedtowhalewatching,
    commercialandrecreationalfisheriesandconservation.WindEnergyscenariosconsiderthe
    developmentofcommercialandcommunityscalewindenergysitesandtheassociated
    tradeoffsinvolvingwhalewatching,commercialandrecreationalfisheriesandconservation.
    TheMIMESmodelprovidesanessentialanalyticalframeworkfromwhichtodeterminethe
    outcomeofalternativedecisions,yetadditionaltoolsareneededtotranslatemodeloutputsto
    adiversestakeholderaudience(includingmanagers)andsupportthedecisionmakingprocess.
    TheMarineIntegratedDecisionAnalysisSystem(MIDAS)isavisualizationtooldesignedto
    communicatetheMIMESmodelsresultsandsupportunderstandingofecosystemservice
    tradeoffsrelatedtoalternativemanagementdecisions.MIDASisauserfriendly,webbased
    interfacethatincorporatesfeaturesofopensourceGIS,participatorymapping,andsocial
    collaboration.Overall,MIDASembracesaWeb2.0perspectiveincorporatingfeaturesof
    participatoryinformationsharing,interoperability,usercentereddesign,andcollaboration.
    ThroughMIDAS,userscandebatealternativepolicyoptions,proposenewmanagement
    scenarios,andcontributetoanongoingdialogueaboutthefutureofcoastalandmarine
    systems.PathsthroughMIDAScanbesharedbetweenuserswithsimilarordiffering
    motivationshelpingtoidentifycompetitiveorcooperativeoutcomesandgenerallyfosteringan
    appreciationforthedisparateperspectivesrelatedtohumanuseofmarineresources.

    36

    Formoreinformation,pleasecontactProf.LesKaufman(lesk@bu.edu)orProf.SuchiGopal
    (suchi@bu.edu).

    Recommendations
    Principles:
    Theworkshopparticipantsexpressedinterestincontinuingthedevelopmentofwideraccessto
    NOAAdatasets,communitystandardsonwaysofattributingcredittoresearcherssharingdata,
    andamoreuniformapproachtothesummarizationofdatawithprivacyissues.
    Theworkshopparticipantsrecommendedthedevelopmentofcollaborationswithsocial
    scientistsandorcommunicationsexpertstodiscusshowthevisualizationofecosystemdata
    variesaccordingtotheaudienceandthemediaavailabletothepublic.
    Theworkshopparticipantsrecognizedthatdifferentaudiencesrequiredifferentinterfacesand
    canprocessdifferentlevelsofcomplexity.
    Itisessentialtoestablishadialogwiththestakeholdersandmanagersinordertounderstand
    thespecificinformationthatisneeded.
    Theworkshopparticipantsnotedthatthedevelopersofvisualizationtoolsshouldconsiderthat
    theuserinterfaceshouldhaveeffectivetoolstoaidtheusersindeterminingwhetherthedata
    presentedwillbeusefultothem.Thefactisthatwiththeadvanceddevelopmentofricher
    onlineoptions,themorecomplexthesystemistouse,thegreateristheneedtoprovidehelp
    text,videohelpfiles,andcarefulprogramming(suchasgooddefaultvalues)whichwill
    facilitatetheuseoftheenduserinterface.
    Theworkshopparticipantsidentifiedtheneedtoincludetheappropriatescaleofthe
    ecosystem(spatialandtemporal)forthetypeofanalysesneeded,theinclusionoferrorand
    uncertaintyrepresentationsintheproductsofferedtotheusersandtheinclusionofthehuman
    factorinalltherepresentationsrelatedtotheecosystemvisualizationwerealsoidentifiedas
    needs.
    Theworkshopparticipantsidentifiedspecificcriteriathatcouldimprovethesuccessofthe
    ecosystemdatavisualizationusedbythestakeholdersandmanagers.Thosecriteriaincluded
    thesuggestiontobreakuptheecosystemcomponents/groupstohelpsimplifythegraphic
    representation,standardizationofuseofcolorsinthevisualizations,theuseofcartoon
    characterstohelpfacilitatetheunderstandingofthedata,theneedtoincludevisualanimation
    oftheparametersvariabilityandoftheecosystemresponsetothatvariationinagraphic
    manner,theneedtoguidetheaudiencethroughtheuseofhomologiestoestablish
    37

    connectionswithpersonallyfamiliarconcepts,andfinallytowalkthroughdataexplorationwith
    themanagersandstakeholders.
    Theworkshopparticipantsrecommendedthattheattributesofdatashouldincludedata
    location,datatype,acquisitiondateandtime,dataandmetadataquality,andthemethodology
    usedtocollectandprocessthedata.Thisshouldalsoincludeuncertaintywithinthedata,and
    sourcesofpotentialerror.

    Actions:
    Theworkshopparticipantsrecommendthataworkinggrouponvisualizingspeciesdistribution
    drivenbyclimatechangeandotherfactors,initiallyfocusingonfishes,composedofregional
    scientistsandindividualswithpracticalknowledge,explorewaysofexpressingthekey
    elementsofwhereresourcesspecieshavebeendistributedandwheretheywilllikelybe
    distributedinthefuture.Theworkshopenvisionsthatthisworkinggroupwillworkmainlyvia
    correspondenceutilizingwebbasedcommunicationsandmayoccasionalgatherforinperson
    workshops.TheworkshopidentifiedChadKeith(NEFSC)asaleadinthiseffortandapointof
    contactforthoseinterestedinparticipating.
    Theworkshopparticipantsnotedthatdespitethecomprehensivecoverageandreachofthe
    workshop,accomplishedwithmodestresources,manyNOAAofficesfromotherregionswere
    unabletoparticipate,andlikewise,manyacademicandnonNOAAagencieswerenot
    represented.TheworkshopencouragesotherNOAAregionalteamstoconsiderfollowon
    workshopsbuildingonthethemesexploredinthisworkshopengagingotherregionsand
    groups.
    Currently,NOAAhasongoinginterest/usergroupsthatfocusonsubjectareasofcurrent
    interesttoabroadaudiencebothwithinandoutsideNOAA.Theworkshopsuggeststhatan
    ecosystemsdatavisualizationusersgroupsmaybetimelyandofwideinterestandtheideaof
    developingsuchagroupbeexplored.ThisproposalmaybeofoverlappinginteresttotheGIS
    usersgroup,whichshouldbecontactedtogaugeinterest.MichaelParkewasidentifiedasthe
    leadtoexplorethiseffort.
    Theworkshopparticipantsrecommendedtrainingbeprovided,specificallyrelatedtothe
    developmentofapplicationsusingtheUnity3DgameengineandTerraViz,aswellasto
    increasetheuseamongthescientificcommunityoftheIpythonenvironment.
    TheworkshopencouragesScienceCommunicationandInformationTechnologytrainingfor
    marinescientiststobetterutilizecurrentcapabilitiesoftheinformationage.Scientistshouldbe
    informedonschemaofcolors,icons,representationsthatworkbestacrossabroadspectrum
    ofaudiences.
    38

    Appendix 1. Agenda
    Day1,February5
    Start
    Duration
    (h:m)
    (h:m)
    9:00
    9:15

    0:15
    0:30

    9:45
    10:15
    10:45
    11:00
    11:30

    0:30
    0:30
    0:15
    0:30
    0:30

    12:00
    12:30
    13:30
    14:00

    0:30
    1:00
    0:30
    0:30

    14:30
    15:00
    15:15

    0:30
    0:15
    0:30

    15:45

    0:30

    16:15
    16:45
    17:00

    0:30
    0:15

    Day2,February6
    Start
    Duration
    (h:m)
    (h:m)
    8:00
    0:05
    8:05
    0:30
    8:35
    0:30
    9:05
    0:30
    9:35
    0:30
    10:05
    0:15
    10:20
    0:30
    10:50
    11:20
    11:50
    12:20
    13:20
    15:00

    0:30
    0:30
    0:30
    1:00
    1:40

    AGENDA
    WELCOME&INTRODUCTION
    Changingperspectivesaboutachangingecosystem
    Visualizingcomplexity:howcanweviewfoodwebandmultispeciesdataand
    dynamicecosystemmodeloutputs
    VisualizationandGamingofEcosystemModelScenarios
    BREAK
    Gettingmorefromdatathanjustwherethefishare
    Visualizingthebaseofthefoodchain
    Challenges,lessonslearned,andaFEWpotentialvisualizationsolutionsfor
    synthesizingsciencetoinformManagementinsouthFlorida
    LUNCH
    Dynamicconceptualizationofhabitat
    Designinggeospatialdatavisualizationsforageneralaudience
    Dealingwithscientificandcommunicationuncertaintythroughdata
    visualization
    BREAK
    NEFSCDataServer:access&visualizationwithPython
    Webaccess,analysisandvisualizationofstandardizedoceanographicand
    meterologicaldata
    OceanographicdataanddataservicesatPacIOOS,aregionalassociationof
    IOOS(remote5hours)
    WRAP
    END

    AGENDA
    ORIENTATION
    Dataandvisualizationintegrationviawebbasedresources
    VisualizingFitnessforPurpose
    VisualizationsofHabitatandSitingDecisions
    Habitatmodelingandvisualization
    BREAK
    Communicatinganunderstandingoflowertrophiclevelsinmarineeosystems
    FindAndVisualizeNOAAData:AnOverviewoftheNOAAEarthInfomation
    System(NEIS)andTerraViz(remote2hours)
    Gettingtoobservingdatausigntheclimatologytoolkit
    Developingaclimatedatavisualizationtoolformarineecosystemmanagers
    LUNCH
    WRAP
    END

    39

    Annala,Johnand
    Friedland,Kevin
    Friedland,Kevin
    Gaichas,Sarah
    Gamble,Robert

    Geis,Scott
    Hyde,Kim
    Kelble,Chris

    Manderson,John
    Butkiewicz,Tom
    Townsend,Howard

    Manning,Jim
    Signell,Rich
    Potemra,James

    DiStefano,Massimo
    Groman,Robert
    Parke,Michael
    Gallager,Scott

    Pershing,Andy
    Smith,Jeff
    YoungMorse,Riley
    Shein,Karsten

    Appendix 2. Participants
    Name
    Annala,John
    Babb,Ivar
    Brady,Damian
    Butkiewicz,Tom
    Cannon,John
    Carr,Ben
    Chamberlain,Glenn
    Cieri,Matthew
    Cousins,Stephen
    Curtis,Tobey
    Darby,Forbes
    DiStefano,Massimo
    Friedland,Kevin
    Gaichas,Sarah
    Gallager,Scott
    Gamble,Robert
    Geis,Scott
    GonzalezMirelis,Genoveva
    Groman,Robert
    Guida,Vincent
    Hackathorn,Eric
    Keith,Charles
    Kelble,Chris
    KimHyde
    Klein,Emily
    Langton,Richard
    Manderson,John

    Institution
    GMRI
    UConn
    UMaine
    UNH
    NOAA
    BU
    NOAANMFS
    MaineDNR
    Umaine
    NOAA
    NOAA
    WHOI
    NOAANMFS
    NOAANMFS
    WHOI
    NOAANMFS
    NOAANMFS
    IMR
    WHOI
    NOAANMFS
    NOAAOAR
    NOAANMFS
    NOAAOAR
    NOAANMFS
    UNH
    NOAANMFS
    NOAANMFS

    email
    jannala@gmri.org
    ivar.babb@uconn.edu
    damian.brady@maine.edu
    tbutkiewicz@ccom.unh.edu
    john.w.cannon@noaa.gov
    bencarr@bu.edu
    glenn.chamberlain@noaa.gov
    matthew.cieri@maine.gov
    steve.cousins@maine.edu
    tobey.curtis@noaa.gov
    forbes.darby@noaa.gov
    mdistefano@whoi.edu
    kevin.friedland@noaa.gov
    sarah.gaichas@noaa.gov
    sgallager@whoi.edu
    robert.gamble@noaa.gov
    scott.geis@noaa.gov
    genoveva.gonzalezmirelis@imr.no
    rgroman@whoi.edu
    vincent.guida@noaa.gov
    terraviz@noaa.gov
    charles.keith@noaa.gov
    chris.kelble@noaa.gov
    kimberly.hyde@noaa.gov
    emily.klein@unh.edu
    rich.langton@noaa.gov
    john.manderson@noaa.gov

    40

    Appendix 2. Participants continued


    Name
    Manning,James
    Martin,MarieCaroline
    Mayer,Larry
    Moore,Peter
    MorrisonRu
    Orphanides,Chris
    Parke,Michael
    Pasquarella,Valerie
    Pershing,Andy
    Potemra,James
    Ribera,Marta
    SamuelChavez
    Schmidt,Andre
    Schroeder,Melanie
    Shein,Karsten
    Sheremet,Vitalii
    Shyka,Tom
    Signell,Rich
    Smith,Jeff
    Smith,Laurel
    StaceBeaulieu
    Stevens,Rachel
    Townsend,Howard
    Trinko,Tara
    Vine,Norman
    YoungMorse,Riley

    Institution
    NOAANMFS
    NOAANMFS
    UNH
    MARACOOS
    NERACOOS
    NOAANMFS
    NOAANMFS
    BU
    GMRI
    PacIOOS
    BU
    UMass
    ASA
    NOAANESDIS
    WHOI
    NERACOOS
    USGS
    NOAAOAR
    NOAANMFS
    WHOI
    NHFish&Game
    NOAANMFS
    NOAA
    GMRI

    email
    james.manning@noaa.gov
    mariecaroline.martin@noaa.gov
    larry@ccom.unh.edu
    moore@maracoos.org
    Ru.Morrison@neracoos.org
    chris.orphanides@noaa.gov
    michael.parke@noaa.gov
    valpasq@bu.edu
    andrew.pershing@maine.edu
    jimp@hawaii.edu
    marta.ribera6@gmail.com
    rottibaja@yahoo.com
    ackschmidt@gmail.com
    mschroeder@asascience.com
    karsten.shein@noaa.gov
    vsheremet@whoi.edu
    tom@neracoos.org
    rsignell@usgs.gov
    jeff.s.smith@noaa.gov
    laurel.smith@noaa.gov
    sbeaulieu@whoi.edu
    Rachel.Stevens@wildlife.nh.gov
    Howard.Townsend@noaa.gov
    tara.trinko@noaa.gov
    nhv@cape.com
    rmorse@gmri.org

    41

    Appendix 3. Visualization Products and Services


    Name

    TerraViz

    Organization Contact Phone Contact E-mail

    NOAA/GSD 303.497.4437

    NEIS (NOAA
    Earth
    Information
    Services)
    NOAA/GSD 303.497.6724

    BCOBob Groman DMO/WHOI 508-289-2409

    Sarah
    Gaichas

    Genoveva
    GonzalezMirelis

    NOAA
    NMFS
    Northeast
    Fisheries
    Science
    Center,
    Woods Hole 508 495 2016

    IMR

    +47 55236376

    Data
    Management

    Julien.Lynge@noa
    a.gov

    Visualization Link to Product

    Brief Description of Services


    Provided

    We create visualizations,
    simulations, and games for
    NOAA, DOE, DOD, and other
    organizations.

    Brief Product Description


    TerraViz is a high-end,
    3D visualization tool
    being developed within
    NOAA with the goal of
    displaying nearly all
    http://esrl.noaa.g NOAA data, past and
    ov/neis/
    future.
    NEIS is a collection of
    services to help users
    find, access, analyze,
    http://esrl.noaa.g and manage NOAA data,
    past and future.
    ov/neis/

    Jebb.Q.Stewart@n
    oaa.gov
    X

    rgroman@whoi.edu X

    Sarah.Gaichas@n
    oaa.gov

    genoveva.gonzalezmirelis@imr.no

    http://mapservice
    .bcodmo.org/mapserv Geospatial access to
    BCO-DMO managed
    er/mapsol/index.php
    datasets

    Work with investigators to


    manage their data from
    proposal to preservation.
    Collect sufficient metadata to
    enable data reuse by others.
    Metadata and data are
    searchable, with
    plotting/visualilzation options
    available to aid in deciding
    whether someone elses data
    would be of use to you. Data
    are accessible and can be
    downloaded in many formats,

    http://gephi.org/
    and
    network visualization
    http://pajek.imfm. software--free and not
    si/doku.php
    produced by me

    none

    We provide distribution
    maps and/or predicted
    http://www.marea occurrence of benthic
    no.no/en
    fauna and seafloor habitat

    Text-based access to
    BCO-DMO managed
    www.bcodmo.org datasets

    42

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