Visualization also allows scientists to examine all aspects of the computation and in some cases reveals errors which might otherwise have gone unnoticed. In the past, individual users produced numerous graphs and plots or created simple two-dimensional animations, and spent considerable amounts of time examining these to obtain a full and complete understanding of a problem. It took considerable effort and skill to gain a full understanding of some of the complex systems under study. Recent advances in technology allow the creation and display of stereoscopic three-dimensional images and for these to be manipulated by scientists in real time. ARSC recently acquired this technology, via a Pyramid Systems ImmersaDesk.
Various tools permit the scientist to interact with the data and navigate through the data set.
This system significantly broadens the visualization capability the center can offer to on-site users. Chris Hartman and Sergei Maurtis work with an image from Jeff Tilley's MM5 climate model on the ImmersaDesk.