EDM Studio Inc. - Terrain Flyby

The ANU Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, CRES, is a world-class research institute dedicated to the study of complex environmental problems:

"Expanding populations, climate change, land-use change, and growing demands for food and fibre have increased pressures on the world's water and land resources and its dependent ecosystems. Within the next 50 years, it is estimated that two thirds of the world's populations will live in countries experiencing moderate to severe water stress".

CRES recently conducted an in-depth study of the algal bloom problems plaguing the Chifley water catchment in northern New South Wales, Australia. Available data included digital elevation grids, land-use coverage maps, ortho-rectified aerial photography, and GIS data for roads and other infrastructure. Vizlab's Darran Edmundson created virtual flyovers of the catchment allowing stakeholders to gain a bird's-eye view of their resource. The exagerated vertical scale emphasizes the effect that distant land-use practices (cultivation, cattle grazing) can have on a remote reservoir.