Visualization over the World Wide Web and its application to environmental data

Explores the way in which data visualization systems, in particular modular visualization environments, can be used over the World Wide Web. The conventional approach is for the publisher of the data also to be responsible for creating the visualization, and posting it as an image on the Web. This leaves the viewer in a passive role, with no opportunity to analyse the data in any way. We look at different scenarios that occur as we transfer more responsibility for the creation of the visualization to the viewer, allowing visualization to be used for analysis as well as presentation. We have implemented one particular scenario, where the publisher mounts the raw data on the Web, and the viewer accesses this data through a modular visualization environment-in this case, IRIS Explorer. The visualization system is hosted by the publisher, but its fine control is the responsibility of the viewer. The picture is returned to the viewer as VRML, for exploration via a VRML viewer such as Webspace. We have applied this to air quality data which is posted on the Web hourly: through our system, the viewer selects what data to look at (e.g. species of pollutant, location, time period) and how to look at it-at any time and from anywhere on the Web.