Topics in digital terrain modeling

Digital terrain modeling is an important area of study in computer graphics due to its growing use in scientific visualization and gaming. It encompasses the processing and storage of data, the analysis and extraction of information, and the visualization and integration of multiple information domains (elevation, geographic, symbolic). The primary challenges stem from the enormous size of the data sets and the growing desire for faster and more realistic real-time interactive applications. As a result, much work has focused on the development of algorithms and techniques to improve efficiency and speed. This workshop offers an introduction to digital terrain modeling. It includes descriptions of several of the important algorithms and techniques for processing and visualizing terrain data. It also presents examples of applications. Many application domains use DTMs, aka digital elevation models (DEMs). The applications presented here will focus on ecology, where several of us have some experience. With Geographical Information Systems ecologists can easily view the distribution of certain phenomena spatially --- in 2D --- on "flatland". However, many ecological phenomena vary considerably with topography --- elevation and orientation. As a result, ecologists are very interested in overlaying their 2D spatial data onto digital elevation maps to see what the "poor neglected z" adds to their understanding of the ecology.