VOLUME VISUALIZING HIGH-RESOLUTION TURBULENCE COMPUTATIONS

Using several volume-visualization packages including a new package we developed called Volsh, we investigate a 25-Gbyte dataset from a 256( 3) computation of decaying quasi-geostrophic turbulence. We compare su rface fitting and direct volume rendering approaches, as well as a num ber of techniques for producing feature-revealing spatial cues. We als o study the pros and cons of using batch and interactive tools for vis ualizing the data and discuss the relative merits of using each approa ch. We find that each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages, a nd a combination of tools is most effective at exploring large four-di mensional scalar datasets. The resulting visualizations show several n ew phenomena in the dynamics of coherent vortices.