Chapter List

Visualization

The preceding chapters have discussed a wide range of environmental measurements and have presented the data in a variety of ways. The following two chapters describe some methods for reducing the dimensionality of the data, extracting maximum information, and dealing with time series. This chapter discusses the very first stages of evaluating the data by means of graphical techniques. This is the most important part of any data analysis, for it gives the initial guide as to the form and direction for the interpretation of the data, so it is worth the time spent on it even if the tools to be used in the final analysis are already determined.

There is no correct manner by which the data should be presented, although the primary goal must be to extract the maximum amount of useful knowledge from the data and to make them readily available to any interested party. This is commonly done by way of formulas, tables, graphs, and maps. A formula usually implies that there is a known fundamental relationship underlying the data, and this is often deduced from primary physical laws, although it also may be the result of result an empirical model. A formula represents an end result, whereas the initial task is often to collate a large amount of primary data into digestible chunks prior to analysis.

The routine, and...