Interactive Meso-scale Simulation of Skyscapes

Abstract

Although an important component of natural scenes, the representation of skyscapes is often relatively simplistic. This can be largely attributed to the complexity of the thermodynamics underpinning cloud evolution and wind dynamics, which make interactive simulation challenging.We address this problem by introducing a novel layered model that encompasses both terrain and atmosphere, and supports efficient meteorological simulations. The vertical and horizontal layer resolutions can be tuned independently, while maintaining crucial inter-layer thermodynamics, such as convective circulation and land-air transfers of heat and moisture. In addition, we introduce a cloud-form taxonomy for clustering, classifying and upsampling simulation cells to enable visually plausible, finely-sampled volumetric rendering. As our results demonstrate, this pipeline allows interactive simulation followed by up-sampled rendering of extensive skyscapes with dynamic clouds driven by consistent wind patterns. We validate our method by reproducing characteristic phenomena such as diurnal shore breezes, convective cells that contribute to cumulus cloud formation, and orographic effects from moist air driven upslope.