The Space Time Cube ribbon provides access to tools and functions that allow you to visualize, explore, and manage the variables and analyses stored in a space-time cube layer. The Space Time Cube ribbon is a contextual ribbon tab that displays when a space-time cube layer is selected in the Contents pane.
Configure the spatiotemporal extent
By default, the space-time cube layer’s full extent will be displayed. The spatial extent is the area covered by all the locations. The time extent is the start time of the first bin to the end time of the final bin. However, you may only be interested in a particular region or time span. For example, the space-time cube may contain 10 years of rainfall measurements collected across the United States, however, you’re only interested in rainfall in California over the last two years. The Configure Extent control on the Space Time Cube ribbon allows you to set the spatial and temporal extent that is visualized in the scene.
Note:
Configuring the temporal and spatial extent applies a definition query to the space-time cube. This only impacts the visualization. The space-time cube will not be changed.
To constrain the time extent, set the Start and End time in the Temporal Extent parameter. To constrain the spatial extent, set the Area of Interest parameter. Every space-time cube location that intersects with the area of interest layer will be displayed. If a subset of the features in the layer are selected, only those features will be used. The layer specified as the Area of Interest must be visible and checked in the Contents pane. You can reset the spatial extent by clicking the reset button. Once you click Apply, the temporal and spatial extent of the space-time cube layer will update in the scene and in the layer’s attribute table. The Temporal Extent will impact the chart created by the Time Series Chart control. It does not impact the pop-up charts that appear when the Time Series Pop-ups by Location control is selected and a bin is clicked.
Visualize
The Visualize section on the Space Time Cube ribbon includes several controls that allow you to view charts, highlight forecasted time steps, and visualize variables and analysis results.
Variable
Use the Variable drop-down menu to select the variable that is visualized by the space-time cube layer. The options will include all the variables that were specified in the Make Space Time Cube Layer tool when you created the space-time cube layer.
Time Series Chart
The Time Series Chart control adds a chart to the layer and opens the Chart Properties tab. By default, the chart plots the mean of the specified variable over time. To change the contents of the chart, update the parameters on the Chart Properties tab. If the chart has already been created, clicking the Time Series Chart control will open the existing chart.
Highlight Forecasted Time Steps
The Highlight Forecasted Time Steps check box is checked if the space-time cube is a forecast cube. A forecast cube contains the results of a tool from the Time Series Forecasting toolset or the Time Series AI toolset. Apply the control to highlight the forecasted time steps in the space-time cube. When checked, the bins without forecast results become translucent while the forecast results remain opaque.
Themes
The Themes gallery includes all the display themes that can be used to visualize and explore the variables and analysis results stored in the space-time cube layer. The display theme options will vary based on the specified variable and the analysis that was performed. Selecting a display theme updates the space-time cube visualization in the scene.
Learn more about the visualization display themes for the space-time cube layer.
Explore
The Explore section includes controls that help you explore the space-time cube layer.
Slice Plane
The Slice Plane tool allows you to create a slice in the space-time cube, making it possible to explore the bins inside the space-time cube that may otherwise be hidden. To create an interactive slice, first click the Slice Plane control. In the scene, click the starting location of the slice. This creates a wireframe rectangle that you can rotate and expand. Click the location you want the plane to end. This creates an interactive slice through the space-time cube. Use the toolbar that appears in the scene to move, rotate, and scale the slice.
Learn more about interactive slices.
Clicking the Slice Plane control changes the cursor. You can change the navigation in the following ways:
- Click the Map tab on the ribbon and select the Explore or Select tool.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+C to switch to the Explore tool or press C to temporarily activate the Explore tool. You can also add a custom shortcut.
Note:
For easier navigation, add the Explore button to the Quick Access Toolbar.
Time Series Pop-ups by Location
The Time Series Pop-ups by Location control allows you to view a time-series chart in the pop-up that appears when you click a bin in the space-time cube layer. The chart displays the variable value over time. All the bins in a time series have identical time-series pop-up charts. Clicking the Time Series Pop-ups by Location control changes the cursor. You can change the navigation in the following ways:
- Click the Map tab on the ribbon and select the Explore or Select tool.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+C to switch to the Explore tool or press C to temporarily activate the Explore tool. You can also add a custom shortcut.
Configure display settings
The Display section includes the Time Steps, Range Options, and Symbol Scaling parameters.
Time Steps
The Time Steps parameter applies a temporal filter to the space-time cube. You can configure the time slider settings on the Time tab. The time-step options include the following:
- All—Displays all the time steps.
- Single slice—Displays a single time step at a time.
- Cumulative—Adds time steps progressively.
Learn more about configuring time settings
Note:
By default, the time slider interacts with all the layers in a scene or map. It is recommended that you work with a single space-time cube layer at a time, unless multiple space-time cube layers use the sample time steps and variable.
Range Options
The Range Options parameter sets the variable of the range slider. The range slider allows you to filter the bins that are displayed in the scene. The variable options will depend on the selected display theme.
Learn more about range sliders
Note:
By default, the range slider interacts with all the layers in a scene or map. It is recommended that you work with a single space-time cube layer at a time, unless multiple space-time cube layers have variables with similar ranges and values.
Symbol Scaling
Use the Symbol Scaling parameter to determine whether to scale the space-time cube bins dynamically as you zoom in and out to different scales (Adaptive) or to keep the bin sizes fixed regardless of the scene scale (Fixed). If you selected the Fixed option, the bins will not be redrawn as you zoom in. This could result in faster rendering speed, however, it could potentially obscure features.
Set elevation properties
The Elevation section includes the Cartographic Offset and Vertical Exaggeration parameters.
Cartographic offset
The Cartographic Offset parameter vertically raises or lowers the entire space-time cube layer by the specified height. This value is measured in the space-time cube layer’s vertical units, which can be viewed and changed by clicking the button and updating the parameters on the Elevation pop-out dialog box. The maximum cartographic offset is 10 million.
Vertical exaggeration
The Vertical Exaggeration parameter applies a scalar to the z-values, increasing the vertical distance between bins in the space-time cube layer. You can increase or decrease the vertical exaggeration to increase or decrease the distance between the bins at a location.
Additional elevation properties
You can view and change additional elevation properties by clicking the button and updating the parameters on the Elevation pop-out dialog box.
Interact with the source space-time cube
The Utilities section provides access to tools that interact with the space-time cube that was used to create the space-time cube layer.
Learn more about the Make Space Time Cube Layer tool
These geoprocessing tools help you update the space-time cube layer, add 2D visualization layers, describe the space-time cube’s characteristics, and create a subset cube from the original space-time cube. Clicking a tool will launch it in the Geoprocessing pane and populate the Input Space Time Cube parameter with the path to the layer’s source space-time cube. If the location of the space-time cube has changed, you will need to update the parameter.
Add 2D Layer
The Add 2D Layer control launches the Visualize Space Time Cube in 2D tool. Use this tool to create a 2D layer from your space-time cube layer. For example, your space-time cube layer may contain the results from a change point detection analysis. The space-time cube layer visualizes the bins where change points were detected. However, if you are interested in the total number of change points that occurred at a location, you could use this tool to export the change point detection results to a 2D layer.
Space Time Cube Management
- Refresh Layer—Launches the Make Space Time Cube Layer tool, which allows you to overwrite the current space-time cube layer. Use this tool to save the updates you have made to the space-time cube layer.
- Describe Cube—Launches the Describe Space Time Cube tool, which summarizes the contents and characteristics of the space-time cube. Use this tool to get a description of the space-time cube.
- Subset Cube—Launches the Subset Space Time Cube tool, which subsets a space-time cube by spatial extent or time. Use this tool to duplicate part of your space-time cube into a new one. For example, if your space-time cube includes the entire United States and you’re only interested in New York, you can use this tool and apply a spatial subset to create a space-time cube that only covers New York.