It's invisible to the user, who just submits a query and gets a reply. For example, one might ask for hourly wind velocities up to four kilometers high at Moss Landing on August 9, 1996. Within a few seconds, a plot would flash on the screen. As the team adds more sources, such as a National Weather Service radar station on a nearby peak, the deluge will only grow. Assistant professor of computer science Alex Pang and his coworkers created new techniques that expose hidden aspects of data.
Users construct their own graphics by choosing from among different tools.
Pang's work stresses scientific utility over glitz. His team is now inventing ways to show the user how much error may exist within data sets. For example, a researcher may wish to ignore wind velocities recorded at a site with tall trees nearby. At first I wasn't convinced it was necessary, but now I've become a real believer in the value of a database where I can access data for any day in a consistent format and in creative visual ways. These casual users care only about how warm it is at the beach or whether there's a righteous swell in Santa Cruz.