Information
Martin Wattenberg >
»Wind Map«, 2012
Co-Workers & Funding:
Fernanda Viégas / Surface wind data comes from the National Digital Forecast Databasehttp://hint.fm/wind/
Technology
Software
About the technique: The general technique of using comet-like trails to show motion goes back to Edmund Halley in 1686 (see Fowler & Ware). Many scientists (Fowler & Ware, Jones & Saito, van Wijk, etc.) have described variations during the past few decades. Our map is designed to provide a dense, easily readable field and to highlight areas of high wind speed. It's implemented entirely in HTML and JavaScript.
Descriptions & Essays
An invisible, ancient source of energy surrounds us—energy that powered the first explorations of the world, and that may be a key to the future. The wind map shows the delicate tracery of wind flowing over the US.
Fernanda Viégas and I created the wind map in the cold winter months when wind was much on our minds. It conveys the movement of the air in the most basic way: with visual motion. As an artwork that reflects the real-world, its emotional meaning changes from day to day. On calm days it can be a soothing meditation on the environment; during hurricanes it can become ominous and frightening.
Although we made the wind map as an artistic exploration, we've been surprised by the kinds of things people use it for: bird watchers have tracked migration patterns; bicyclists have planned their trips; and we've even seen conspiracy theorists use it to track mysterious chemicals in the air.
Even on a day of mild weather, patterns can be dramatic. There's much more to the wind than a west to east flow.
Literature
Exhibitions & Events