Philosophy:
The KeckCAVES advances understanding of the Earth by providing an environment for interdisciplinary collaboration founded in visualization of complex scientific data.

Purpose of Keck CAVES:
The Earth sciences are challenged to manage and interpret increasing volumes of data as observations and simulations increase in size and complexity. We are developing methods of interactive visualization, with a special focus on using immersive virtual reality (VR) environments to interact with models of earth’s surface and interior. Virtual mapping tools allow virtual “field studies” in regions that are inaccessible to human geologists. Interactive tools allow us to manipulate shapes, while feature extraction tools support quantitative measurement of structures that emerge from numerical simulation. Visualizing stress and strain in high-resolution computer simulations of elastic-plastic deformation improves our interpretation of the dynamical processes that drive earthquakes. Reaping the full intellectual benefits of immersive VR requires us to tailor our approach to scientific problems that build on the visualization method's strengths, including both 3D perception and interaction with data and models, to take advantage of the skills and training of the geological scientists exploring their data in the VR environment. In doing so, we are developing a suite of tools that are adaptable to a range of problems.

The main objective of the Keck CAVES collaboration is to create an intellectual and computational framework for the exploration, manipulation, and creation of 3-D datasets and models. Our focus is on developing and using tools for scientific research that cannot be accomplished using other techniques. Specifically, we are developing tools that allow investigators to:

Value of Scientific Visualization:
The human brain excels at visually identifying patterns in large, complex datasets. Using this ability to interpret scientific data is in essence applying “The Human Factor” to data sets; the best interpretations arise when scientists can fully visualize their data. As Edward Tufte wrote two decades ago, “At their best, graphics are instruments for reasoning about quantitative information. Often the most effective way to describe, explore, and summarize a set of numbers – even a very large set – is to look at pictures of those numbers” (The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 1983, p. 9). Since then, Earth science datasets have increased in size and complexity to the extent that they cannot be represented adequately in numerical form. Statistical distributions and correlations contain interesting information, but by their very nature, they limit the amount of information conveyed. As it becomes increasingly easy to model interacting, non-linear processes and make large numbers of observations, developing new ways of understanding and interpreting these datasets is critical to making significant scientific advances. Using our innate abilities to interpret vast amounts of very complex visual information and focus our attention on the most interesting features is the best technique for gaining the scientific insights that produce breakthroughs in difficult problems. Advanced visualization technology allows scientists to use their full visual capacity, helping them identify previously unrecognized processes and interactions in complex systems. Interactive immersion in complicated datasets in a visualization cave takes maximum advantage of the visual computational ability of the human brain to interpret data. It allows scientists to apply their full reasoning and interpretive abilities to the problems at hand. 

Hardware and Facilities

Funding and Acknowledgements:
This work was supported by the W. M. Keck Foundation and the University of California, Davis.

We thank: Virginia Hinshaw, Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor of UC Davis, Winston Ko, Dean of MPS, Barry Klein, Vice Chancellor for Research for their support of the KeckCAVES vision.

We thank Robin Pleau, Maureen Miller, Paul Waterstraat, and Janice Fong; the KeckCAVES could not have been successful without their efforts.

Download the KeckCAVES brochure (pdf file; download Adobe Reader to view).