Using Origin to Plot Animated Graphs of Dynamic Time Dependent Climatic Variables

Professor Ray Huffaker from the University of Florida uses Origin for his research on food system dynamics and more recently, in the investigation on climatic variables in relation to wind-power production. He applies data diagnostic techniques on economic and biophysical time-sequenced data to find low dimensional and non linear deterministic patterns. This information is used to create models that simulate the dynamics of real-world scenarios.

One example of such a project concerns determining the commercial viability of wind-power. Competing in the energy market depends on the power that can be sold for peak prices at least cost. Wind speed is a large factor in the amount of power generated. Dr. Huffaker aimed to formulate a technique that simulates complex wind speed patterns over time in order to match them to the power demand and supply during peak periods. He used nonlinear dynamic methods of analysis on historic wind records to reconstruct wind speed patterns.

Time-delay embedding was used so that each point on the graph showed wind speeds at four consecutive 6-hour blocks with a 1-period lag, altogether making up twenty four hours. A member of the OriginLab technical support team provided Dr. Huffaker with an automation script (view script) that shows the evolution of wind-speed patterns over time as non-repeating daily oscillations. Watching each point plotted in sequence allowed him to visualize how the pattern is created – something difficult to do when the entire figure is plotted at once, as in a static 3D graph.

Dr. Huffaker says:
"I did a web search of graphics packages and chose Origin because of its broad capabilities and user-friendly front end. I recommend Origin to colleagues based on the excellent performance of the software, and the top-notch support from excellent Origin staff."