Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Ziegeler, Sean Bernard
Author's Email Address	sean@erc.msstate.edu
URN	etd-04032002-162001
Title	Using Virtual Environments to Visualize Atmospheric Data: Can It Improve a Meteorologist's Potential to Analyze the Information?
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Electrical and Computer Engineering
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Robert J. Moorhead Committee Chair Joerg Meyer Committee Member Lori M. Bruce Committee Member
Keywords	Virtual Reality Virtual Environments Meteorology Scientific Visualization
Date of Defense	2002-05-11
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Conventional analysis of atmospheric data includes three-dimensional desktop-computer displays. One disadvantage is that it can reduce the ability to zoom in and see small-scale features while concurrently viewing other faraway features. This research intends to determine if using virtual environments to examine atmospheric data can improve a meteorologist's ability to analyze the given information. In addition to possibly enhancing small-scale analysis, virtual environments technology offers an array of possible improvements. Presented is the theory on developing an experiment to establish the extent to which virtual environments assist meteorologists in analysis. Following is the details of an implementation of such an experiment. Based on the quantitative results obtained, the conclusion is that immersion can significantly increase the accuracy of a meteorologist's analysis of an atmospheric data set.
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