WebGL-based Geodata Visualization for Policy Support and Decision Making

Abstract

Accessible data visualizations are crucial to reaching a wide audience and supporting the decision making processes. With increasing support of WebGL and the new HTML5 standard, the Internet becomes an interesting platform for visualization and data analysis. In contrast to standalone applications, WebGL-based visualizations are easily accessible, cross-platform compatible, and do not require additional software installation. In this work, we propose a WebGL-based visualization that combines various web technologies to interactively explore, analyze, and communicate environmental geodata. As an application case study, we chose an energy consumption dataset for Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. Our study highlights the power of web visualizations and how they can support decision making in collaborative environments.