A Menu-Driven Software Package for the Animation of Ocean Hydrodynamics Numerical Simulations

Accurate numerical simulation of ocean hydrodynamic processes is complex and difficult, requiring the execution of complicated calculations at high speed using supercomputers. Simulations typically produce values over a grid of points for each of many time intervals. Because this is a dynamic, time-varying process, animation is required to enhance understanding of simulation results. This paper presents a software package which allows the generation of inexpensive, raster -based, computer-generated animation for multi -dimensional hydrodynamic models. The software provides the modeler with the flexibility to view single frames of a proposed animation and to easily modify data normalization and color choice. The final product is a movie produced on a DICOMED graphics film recorder. An animation of a "gravitational collapse" of a cylinder within a density stratified body of water will be discussed as an example.