Although the geometry and kinematics of the fi rst-order structures accommodating Arabia-Eurasia convergence are relatively well known in Turkey and Iran, major shortening structures remain poorly understood within the central portion of the collision zone, in eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus. New remotely sensed neotectonic mapping, synthesis of regional geologic and stratigraphic data, and balanced cross sections suggest that the Kura fold-thrust belt has accommodated the majority of Arabia-Eurasia convergence since the early Pliocene between the longitudes of ~45°E and ~49°E. This belt lies southeast of the N80°W-striking Greater Caucasus Mountains and forms an eastwardnarrowing band of elevated topography that roughly parallels the range front for ~400 km along strike. The belt is separated from the Greater Caucasus to the north by the 10-to 25-km-wide Alazani Basin and comprises a series of predominantly south-verging folds deforming Eocene-Quaternary fl ysch and molasse. To document structural geometries within the Kura fold-thrust belt, we have used the Real-time Interactive Mapping System (RIMS) software to analyze Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Refl ection Radiometer (ASTER), visible to near-infrared (VNIR), and digital elevation model (DEM) data. This neotectonic mapping indicates an along-strike, eastward decrease in both structural complexity and the degree to which deformed geomorphic surfaces are dissected. Existing geologic maps indicate a corresponding eastward decrease in the depth of exposure. By integrating the structural geometries determined in our analysis of remote-sensing data with existing geologic data, we have constructed two balanced cross sections, which suggest these systematic along-strike variations result from a west-to-east decrease in total shortening within the Kura fold-thrust belt. We interpret this variable shortening to stem from eastward propagation of the Kura foldthrust belt. Comparison of our preliminary total shortening estimates with those predicted by current plate motions suggest that the Kura fold-thrust belt has accommodated ~30%-40% (~25 km) of total Arabia-Eurasia convergence since 5 Ma, and thus forms a fi rst-order structural system within the central portion of the collision zone.
We describe visualization software, Visualizer, that was developed specifically for interactive, visual exploration in immersive virtual reality (VR) environments. Visualizer uses carefully optimized algorithms and data structures to support the high frame rates required for immersion and the real-time feedback required for interactivity. As an application developed for VR from the ground up, Visualizer realizes benefits that usually can not be achieved by software initially developed for the desktop and later ported to VR. However, Visualizer can also be used on desktop systems (unix/linux based operating systems including Mac OS X) with a similar level of real-time interactivity, bridging the "software gap" between desktop and VR that has been an obstacle for the adoption of VR methods in the Geosciences. While many of the capabilities of Visualizer are already available in other software packages used in a desktop environment, the features that distinguish Visualizer are: 1) Visualizer can be used in any VR environment including the desktop, GeoWall, or CAVE, 2) In non-desktop environments the user interacts with the data set directly using a wand or other input devices instead of working indirectly via dialog boxes or text input, 3) On the desktop, Visualizer provides real-time interaction with very large data sets that can not easily be viewed or manipulated in other software packages. Three case studies are presented that illustrate the direct scientific benefits realized by analyzing data or simulation results with Visualizer in a VR environment. We also address some of the main obstacles to widespread use of VR environments in scientific research with a user study that shows Visualizer is easy to learn and to use in a VR environment and can be as effective on desktop systems as native desktop applications.
Abstract-Natural-neighbor interpolation methods, such as Sibson's method, are well-known schemes for multivariate data fitting and reconstruction. Despite its many desirable properties, Sibson's method is computationally expensive and difficult to implement, especially when applied to higher-dimensional data. The main reason for both problems is the method's implementation based on a Voronoi diagram of all data points. We describe a discrete approach to evaluating Sibson's interpolant on a regular grid, based solely on finding nearest neighbors and rendering and blending d-dimensional spheres. Our approach does not require us to construct an explicit Voronoi diagram, is easily implemented using commodity three-dimensional graphics hardware, leads to a significant speed increase compared to traditional approaches, and generalizes easily to higher dimensions. For large scattered data sets, we achieve two-dimensional (2D) interpolation at interactive rates and 3D interpolation (3D) with computation times of a few seconds.
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