Title of Paper: A Case Study of DISS Usage - Employing the Distributed Image Spread Sheet to Visualize, Analyze and Animate MODIS Data

Principal Author: Michael Manyin 

Abstract: The Distributed Image Spread Sheet is a program for browsing and computing over large Earth Science image data sets. It combines the organization and formulaic paradigm of a traditional numeric spreadsheet with the visualization capabilities of graphics workstations. As such, it is particularly well suited for viewing and calculating over data from remote sensing platforms like the EOS Terra spacecraft.

This paper describes a case in which DISS was used to study MODIS Land parameters, providing basic statistics, supporting visual investigation and capturing screen shots which were easily converted into MPEG animations. During this project, some features of DISS were extended or newly implemented. For example, a 'mask' function and bitwise image operators were introduced, image statistics were extended to include standard deviation, and HDF-EOS data field names were incorporated as command line options. As a result the visualization and computational tasks became significantly more convenient and straightforward. The paper concludes with a examination of the resulting Spread Sheet script which satisfied the original objectives, and a discussion of likely future enhancements to the program.