3D VISUALIZATION OF THE ERUPTION OF A CINDER CONE VOLCANO: DESIGNING AN INTERPRETIVE EXHIBIT FOR SUNSET CRATER VOLCANO NATIONAL MONUMENT

The National Park Service visitor center at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Flagstaff, Arizona was completely renovated in 2004. Working from goals and objectives developed from the park's Comprehensive Interpretive Plan, staff developed a coherent suite of exhibits linking geology to culture and ecology. Central to the understanding of the park's natural history is the how the volcano changed the landscape. Sunset Crater Volcano erupted sometime between A.D. 1040 and 1100 and is one of the youngest volcanoes on the Colorado Plateau. It is the central science resource in the park. In designing and building a 3D visualization exhibit we considered the following goals: 1) Accurately present the current understanding of the sequence of eruptions and their durations as have been developed through scientific research at the park. 2) Accurately visualize how the volcano changed the landscape. 3) Enable the visitor to “fly” around the eruptions so they could get multiple perspectives on the events. 4) Enable the visitor to experience the view from the top of the volcano as it appears today. The design factors involved the consideration of visitor traffic flow at this and nearby exhibits and exhibit hardware and software robustness. Visitor demographics led us to consider how families, individuals and groups might use the exhibit. Experts on the geology of the volcano were brought together to develop the history of the eruption. The ROMA terrain engine was used to develop the software for the exhibit. Animated mesh deformations simulate changes in ground elevations as the eruption stages progress and particle effects were used to simulate ash and gas eruptions. The user interface includes a commercial quality joystick and multiple buttons for flight and selection of eruptive stages. The visualization is projected on a 4' x 3' screen allowing for multiple visitor observation. To meet our fourth goal we developed a multiple node QuickTime VR scene from high-resolution photography at the several nodes on the top of the volcano.