"Qualitative Simulation of Cloud Formation and Evolution"
Abstract
Cloud simulation models are rare in computer graphics,
although many rendering algorithms have been developed to evaluate
the illumination and the color of gaseous phenomena.
The laws of fluid mechanics used for physical simulation require
a fine resolution in space and time, and solving the Navier-Stokes equation
in 3D is in general quite costly.
However, many heuristics, dealing with various scales,
can be used to describe
the evolution of the shape of convective clouds such as cumulus.
These go beyond the classical equations governing the motion
of each element of fluid volume.
Physicists characterize the identity and behavior of phenomena
such as bubbles, jets, instabilities, waves, convective cells,
and vortices.
Moreover, the shape of a convective cloud
can be considered as a surface,
so that we only require detailed information near the periphery
of the cloud volume.
A guiding principle in our ongoing
research is to take advantage of this type of
high level knowledge available at various scales
in order to obtain a simulation of convective clouds
that may not be physically-accurate, but
that will be perceptually convincing.
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