| MACI
Supports Collaborative Efforts of Landscape Visualization
Project
A
research team at the University of Alberta is
pushing the envelope of geographic information
systems in partnership with Elk Island National
Park. The research team, led by Mr Jeff Thurston
of the Renewable Resources department, is creating
a 3D visualization system, supported by MACI computational
resources that will allow users, ranging from
scientific researchers to tourists, to “walk
through” a photo-realistic tour of Elk Island
Park. The park is home to many wildlife species
including bison, elk, deer, small predators, rare
birds and other fragile species of aboriginal
plants and animals.
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Mr
Thurston’s research team is aiming to surpass the
visual quality provided by today’s typical virtual
reality fly-throughs with their coarse features and
low resolutions. Thurston and his colleagues have created
a topographical representation, known as a digital elevation
model (DEM), based on older data from Elk Island National
Park, which they are using as a prototype to work out
computational and visualization techniques applied to
the their new high-resolution DEM. The ultimate goal
of this project is to integrate the rich and powerful
capabilities of visualization functionality, with the
robust and analytical power of GIS. These research breakthroughs
have also led to the innovation of new concepts in Geographical
Information Systems – specifically the development
of ‘Vertical GIS’. Vertical GIS is being developed
to provide ecologists and other landscape researchers;
a new landscape assessment method for the discovery
of biodiversity indicators.
The
development of a landscape visualization system of this
quality will influence all levels of society. From a
user perspective, one will be able to distinguish between
different species of trees and animal habitat and zoom
in on features of the landscape down to a resolution
of one meter. From a researcher point of view, the system
will be time sensitive and updateable, incorporating
older aerial photographic data starting from the 1920’s
allowing for various disciplines to analyze historical
landscape changes. From an administrative level, this
system will allow for the development of landscape management
and preservation strategies, transforming future municipal,
provincial and national protectionist acts.
MACI
has played a major role in the success of this landscape
visualization project. Future initiatives will rely
heavily on continued technological support and this
project’s wider applicability alone, justifies
the need for prolonged technological sustainability.
jeff.thurston@ualberta.ca
Selected
Publications:
This thesis
was supported in part with MACI funding and addresses
the issue of Vertical GIS.
- Thurston, J. 2001. Vertical GIS and Visualization:
A Comparison of 2D and 3D. MSc. Thesis in Geographic
Information Systems. Manchester University. (in press)
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