Data visualisation

Two newly-released spiral visualisations of global-warming data reveal how human activities are linked to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and rising temperatures. Visualised by Robert Gieseke of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Malte Meinshausen of the University of Melbourne, the animated GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format) and interactive versions show how atmospheric CO2 concentration has increased 40 per cent since 1850 and two-thirds of the carbon budget that the world can use to limit global warming to 2 degrees C has already been consumed, IANS reports.

Data visualization is a general term that describes any effort to help people understand the significance of data by placing it in a visual context. Patterns, trends and correlations that might go undetected in text-based data can be exposed and recognized easier with data visualization software. Today's data visualization tools go beyond the standard charts and graphs used in Excelspreadsheets, displaying data in more sophisticated ways such as infographics, dials and gauges, geographic maps, sparklines, heat maps, and detailed bar, pie and fever charts. The images may include interactive capabilities, enabling users to manipulate them or drill into the data for querying and analysis.

Indicators designed to alert users when data has been updated or predefined conditions occur can also be included. Most business intelligence software vendors embed data visualization tools into their products, either developing the visualization technology themselves or sourcing it from companies that specialize in visualization, writes techtarget.com.

Effective visualization helps users analyze and reason about data and evidence. It makes complex data more accessible, understandable and usable. Users may have particular analytical tasks, such as making comparisons or understanding causality, and the design principle of the graphic (i.e., showing comparisons or showing causality) follows the task. Data visualization is both an art and a science. It is viewed as a branch of descriptive statistics by some, but also as a grounded theory development tool by others.

The rate at which data is generated has increased. Data created by internet activity and an expanding number of sensors in the environment, such as satellites, are referred to as "Big Data". Processing, analyzing and communicating this data present a variety of ethical and analytical challenges for data visualization. The field of data science and practitioners called data scientists have emerged to help address this challenge, according to Wikipedia.