Visualizing Scientific Data Using Keyhole Markup Language (KML)

Lovro Valcic ¹, John E Bailey ^1,2, Jonathan Dehn <sup>1

1</sup>Alaska Volcano Observatory, Geophysical Institute, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States
²Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, 909 Koyukuk Drive, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States

Over the last five years there has been a proliferation in the development of virtual globe programs. Programs such as Google Earth, NASA World Wind, SkylineGlobe, Geofusion and ArcGIS Explorer each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and whether a market will remain for all tools will be determined by user application. This market is currently led by Google Earth, the release of which on 28 Jun 2005 helped spark a revolution in virtual globe technology, by bringing it into the public view and imagination. Many would argue that such a revolution was due, but it was certainly aided by the world-wide name recognition of Google, and the creation of a user-friendly interface. Google Earth is an updated version of a program originally called Earth Viewer, which was developed by Keyhole Inc. It was renamed after Google purchased Keyhole and their technology in 2001. In order to manage the geospatial data within these viewers, the developers created a new XML-based (Extensible Markup Language) called Keyhole Markup Language (KML).

Through manipulation of KML scientists are finding increasingly creative and more visually appealing methods to display and manipulate their data. A measure of the success of Google Earth and KML is demonstrated by the fact that other virtual globes are now including various levels of KML compatibility. This presentation will display examples of how KML has been applied to scientific data. It will offer a forum for questions pertaining to how KML can be applied to a user's dataset. Interested parties are encouraged to bring examples of projects under development or being planned.