3D geospatial modelling and visualization for marine environment: Study of the marine pelagic ecosystem of the south-eastern Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic

• Published in: The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
• Main Authors: J. Sahlin, M. A. Mostafavi, A. Forest, M. Babin, B. Lansard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2012
• Subjects: Technology; T; Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General); TA1-2040; Applied optics. Photonics; TA1501-1820; Arctic; Beaufort Sea
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/isprsarchives-XXXVIII-4-C26-21-2012; https://doaj.org/article/5ea7e81088b6435cb15e7dd9e8c2fd31

Geospatial modelling of the marine pelagic ecosystem is challenging due to its dynamic and volumetric nature. Consequently, conventional oceanographic spatial analysis of this environment is in a 2D environment, limited to static cutting planes in horizontal and vertical sections to present various phenomena. In this paper, we explore the contribution of recent 3D development in GIS and in scientific visualization tools for representation and analyses of oceanographic data sets. The advantages of a 3D solution are illustrated with a 3D geospatial voxel representation of water masses distribution in the southeastern Beaufort Sea (west of the Canadian Arctic).