> You really want to use a GIS - even for quicklook to avoid
> reinventing wheel.
The original question was:
> I am currently involved with the reduction and analysis of
> meteorological satellite data, primarily from polar orbiters.
and there are plenty of existing satellite meteorology systems
if he wants to avoid reinventing the wheel. McIDAS (available
via http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/software/mcidas.html) is of course
the home town favorite around here. It can handle virtually
every type of meteorological data and map boundaries, includes
numerous specialized meteorological analyses, and generates
2-D displays.
On the other hand, if you believe Java is the wave of the
future and you are a system developer then we recommend VisAD.
GIS really show their strength in data queries that include
geometric conditions, like "list all the towns that have more
than 100 residents and are more than 20 miles from an Interstate
highway". If your meteorological analyses include geometric
queries, then GIS are strong candidates.
Cheers,
Bill
----------------------------------------------------------
Bill Hibbard, SSEC, 1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706
whibbard@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 608-263-4427 fax: 608-263-6738
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/vis.html
"kill cross-platform Java by growing the polluted Java market"
- from an internal Microsoft planning document
