Use of Met.3D for interactive 3-D visual analysis for forecasting during the NAWDIC field campaign

Met.3D (documentation including installation instructions available at https://met3d.readthedocs.org) is an open-source research software with the goal to make interactive, 3-D, feature-based, and ensemble visualization techniques accessible to the meteorological community. At the EMS 2025, we introduced Met.3D version 2.0, featuring, for example, a new user interface and a batch mode. This year, we report on the use of Met.3D during the international North Atlantic Waveguide and Downstream Impact Campaign (NAWDIC, https://www.nawdic.kit.edu/). NAWDIC took place in January and February 2026 with the aim of providing detailed observations of mid-latitude atmospheric dynamics and involved, amongst other aircraft and ground stations, the German HALO research aircraft.

As part of the campaign’s forecasting team, we deployed Met.3D in batch mode (for pre-defined 3-D forecast products) and in an interactive remote visualization setup to support weather forecasting and flight planning for HALO. Visualization servers by the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) were remotely accessible from the campaign site in Shannon, Ireland, and used to analyze open data ICON forecasts from the German Weather Service (DWD). Interactive 3-D visualizations, including vertical cross-sections, Lagrangian particle trajectories, and feature-based representations of atmospheric structures, enabled the detailed analysis of air mass origins and transport pathways throughout the troposphere. These capabilities proved valuable for identifying scientifically relevant flight paths under various constraints.

We present selected case studies from NAWDIC to illustrate how interactive 3-D visualization complements traditional 2-D analysis methods and enhances situational awareness in complex meteorological scenarios. Furthermore, we highlight how the Met.3D batch and interactive setups are further developed for use, e.g., in future campaigns.