VISUALIZATION OF BIG GEODATA: AN EXPERIMENT WITH DINSAR DEFORMATION TIME SERIES

Abstract. This paper describes an experiment carried out within the project “URBAN GEOmatics for Bulk data Generation, Data Assessment and Technology Awareness (URBAN GEO BIG DATA)” on novel technological solutions for encouraging the use of time series of big geodata by scientists, public administrators, and the citizens of urban areas. In this experiment, we focus on fostering the use of ground deformation time series derived through the Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) measurements in urban areas (i.e., Naples, Milan, and Turin) through visualization. Two visualization applications are developed within the project. First, mean deformation velocity maps are visualized; second, the cumulative deformation time series is animated to enable the comprehension of deformation of eighteen years at a glance. The experiment allows experts and non-experts to discover spatio-temporal patterns of deformation. The paper focuses on the characteristics and implementation details of this experiment. Both visualizations are overlaid on a three-dimensional map, i.e., a virtual globe. We use open standards and free and open source software (FOSS) for Web to enable interoperability, replicability, and reusability.