SUVIS: A Depth- and Motion-Encoded Stereoscopic System for Communicating Forecast Uncertainty

Effectively communicating uncertainty in ensemble hurricane forecasts poses a significant multimedia challenge, requiring the integration of spatial, temporal, and perceptual dimensions. We introduce SUVIS, a stereoscopic visualization system that encodes forecast ensembles into an immersive, layered media experience. SUVIS transforms multidimensional ensemble data into animated stereoscopic representations, mapping time to vertical depth, intensity to texture color, and forward speed to motion flow, while semi-transparent glyphs represent evolving impact areas. A progressive sampling strategy ensures spatial clarity across depth layers. Rendered on a glasses-free stereoscopic display, SUVIS frames uncertainty visualization as a media encoding problem, synthesizing motion, depth, and spatial abstraction to align with human perception. A user study with 51 participants demonstrates that SUVIS supports high accuracy in spatial tasks and enables interpretation of dynamic storm attributes. These results highlight the system's potential to advance perceptual uncertainty communication through multimedia representation and immersive visual encoding.