Arctic Sea Ice

NASA data in breathtaking 3D immersive detail
Cuddlebook, a mobile app we developed for bilingual families

At a glance

Each month, NASA satellites capture the breathtaking yet sobering story of Arctic sea ice - its extent, its volume, its gradual decline.

We designed and developed a web-based, 3D data visualiser, making insights tangible and accessible.

TECHNOLOGIES

  • WebGL
  • BabylonJS
  • React

SERVICES

  • UI/UX design
  • App development
  • GLSL shader development

Rationale

The datasets are large and complex. Navigating them can be challenging, especially for those without training or the special tools to interpret the data effectively.

While traditional visualisations like 2D graphs and charts are helpful, they don't fully convey the spatial nature of Arctic sea ice data.

Our goal is to make this data more accessible.

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The Challenge

Arctic sea ice datasets are massive and intricate. They live in folders filled with satellite imagery and numerical models that are difficult to compare or interpret without technical expertise.

Conventional tools - like 2D graphs and charts - capture some of the story, but miss the spatial complexity and emotional impact of witnessing Earth’s polar shifts.

We wanted to explore: What if climate data felt less like reading a spreadsheet and more like exploring a living, breathing planet?

2D to 3D: Interactive Transitions

The process behind the hero effect:
  1. Model the Earth sphere in Blender
  2. Write custom shader to project texture on to the sphere and use as a displacement texture
  3. Custom code for camera controls based on zoom level
  4. Drive the rendering using camera zoom level

3D to 2D transitions using custom shaders

CONTACT US

Let's go create

Got an idea and need to supercharge it to the next level?

Send us a message and get the ball rolling