Atlas of a Changing Earth

Our atmosphere and oceans are steadily warming. Great stores of ice covering Antarctica and Greenland are melting at an increasing rate. To observe and predict the changing face of our planet, three groups of scientists turn to satellites and supercomputers to map these remote regions and track these effects to help guide and inform possible solutions. Their research is exhibited in the telling documentary “Atlas of a Changing Earth,” which prominently features complex datasets processed on Blue Waters and stunning visualizations created by the Advanced Visualization Lab. Both are housed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. NCSA contributed many scientific and cinematic visualizations, working closely with Spitz Inc. and Thomas Lucas Productions Inc. to produce multiple film formats, including a 24-minute full-dome digital version and a 50-minute 4K flatscreen version.