Voxel layer and time

Multidimensional data can include a time dimension. A voxel layer enables the visualization of time as a fourth dimension (x, y, z, t), or where time represents a third dimension as in a space time cube (x, y, t).

The following video shows a time-enabled voxel layer of ocean temperature:

Volumetric data with a time dimension

If the data includes a time dimension and meets the requirements, the Time tab is enabled after a voxel layer is added to a scene. The time variable in the source netCDF file can have one or more values, which must be sorted in ascending order. The following formats are supported: YYYY:MM:DD hh:mm:ss, YYYY:MM:DD, and YYYY:MM:DD hh:mm:ss hh:mm, where the last hh:mm is a time zone.

To work with time, use the time slider or the Time tab. Ensure Layer is enabled in the Step group on the Time tab and set to the voxel layer. Use the time slider to step through each time stamp as described in the voxel data's time variable or animate the layer over a time period. Time information for each voxel cube is converted to UTC local time and is accessed through the pop-up.

The time slider controls all items in a voxel layer, including the volume, isosurfaces, and sections.

A locked section for a time-enabled voxel layer is locked in its geographical and temporal extent. A locked section is tied to a time index based on the underlying voxel data. The time extent over which a particular locked section is visible is from the time of the corresponding time index in the underlying voxel data until just before the time of the next time index in the underlying voxel data. If the section's time index is the last time index in the underlying voxel data, the end point of that particular locked section's time extent is the maximum representable time in the future.

When the locked section is not rendering it is unavailable in the Contents pane. To make an invisible locked section visible, right-click the locked section and click Zoom To Locked Section. The time slider jumps to the time when the locked section was created and the locked section becomes visible.

Two-dimensional data with a time dimension

A voxel layer can directly read two-dimensional data with time X,Y,T as a volume by converting the time into a height dimension.

Data generated by the Create Space Time Cube By Aggregating Points geoprocessing tool can be visualized as a voxel layer.

Time stamps can then be explored by slicing or creating a section horizontally and moving through the heights using the position slider in the Voxel Exploration pane or the Push or Pull tool Move Slice on the Slice and Section toolbar.

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