Interactive Weather Analysis Laboratory (IWAL)

Meteorological research is dependent on the efficient exploration and visualization of vast amounts of both observational and numerical model data. This proposed project will build an interactive weather analysis laboratory (IWAL), which will serve as a key component in several lecture courses here at the ETH. This innovative tool will provide students and users a unique means to interactively explore the complex 3-dimensional structure and temporal evolution of weather systems. The concepts and techniques presented in this tool are fundamental to modern meteorological research. The IWAL will consist of a large operational meteorological database, a suite of algorithms to analyze and visualize these data, and an interactive web-interface to present the graphical information. Using IWAL, the students will perform detailed analyses of the physical and dynamical processes that determine a weather systems¿ evolution. They will also form and test hypotheses and theoretical concepts introduced in the lecture courses directly with data from actual weather events. The interactive features of IWAL will support creativity and curiosity in preparing the student for the explorative nature of atmospheric research. These skills will be of great benefit for the students during their BSc and MSc thesis projects and future research activities.

• Intuitive operation
• Many different application possibilities
• Attraktive visualisation

Students will be able to visualise meteorological data (in different forms) interactively and to combine them (e.g. overlay satellite data with the output of a model) and investigate the structure and development of different weather systems via access to a very large data archive.

• Cooperation with Computer Science experts is essential
• Early inclusion of students (feedback on the first prototype) is very useful
• Deployment in lectures/exercises must be very well prepared