Interactive Comparative Display System for Analyzing Results of EnvironmentalModeling

摘要

Environmental modeling usually involves large numbers of input and output data,especially when the modeling is on a regional or national scale. The difficulty of analyzing these data can then become a serious problem in itself and thereby an impediment to the effectiveness and success of a modeling effort. The interactive comparative display system (ICDS) provides a means for tackling this problem. Once it has been implemented for a certain model, the menu-driven user-interface makes it very easy to select a subset of data and display them on a color monitor. The data are retrieved from a hierachically-structured data base; this type of data base has the advantage that it can contain very many topics and subtopics of data without the danger of the user becoming confused. Display of data can either be in the form of colorings of subunits on a schematized map or in the form of a pie or bar chart. By using a screen-layout with twin maps and charts the system makes possible the visual comparative analysis of data, thus mobilizing the excellent human capability of comparing two objects. (Copyright (c) 1991 The Winand Staring Centre for Integrated Land, Soil and Water Research.)