Here we look at the feasibility of creating a Hitchhiker Globe animation using GPlates and Globe.gl as a 42 Day Sprint.
# Recommendation This project is **ambitious but realistic**. It is suitable for: - A student research lab project - A funded open science or digital humanities initiative - A collaborative effort between developers and geoscientists It fits well within the goals of the Hitchhiker Project and could serve as a core timeline engine linking deep time, Earth systems, and visual storytelling.
# Evaluating a Tectonic Animation Pipeline This project aims to visualize the history and future of Earth's tectonic plates using data from GPlates and rendering it in Globe.gl. The goal is a smooth, interactive timeline animation that runs in the browser and links to detailed wiki content. It should also support continuous updates as new scientific data becomes available.
### Mobile Performance Animating global-scale plate polygons over thousands of frames can stress mobile devices. Issues may include: - Limited GPU power for real-time vector rendering - Slower memory access for large GeoJSON datasets - Poor frame rates when using complex animations or many overlays Mitigations include: - Simplifying data resolution (fewer vertices per shape) - Using fewer time steps (e.g. 100 vs. 1000) - Preloading or streaming frames incrementally - Rasterizing vector layers into textures for smoother playback
# Data Size and Complexity A 10-million-year animation sampled every 0.5 million years = ~20 frames. Each frame may be 100–300 KB in compressed format, meaning total assets under 10MB. This is feasible for mobile, but complexity grows with more data layers (e.g. hotspots, fossils, climate zones).
# Integration with Federated Wiki Linking animation to wiki pages requires: - Consistent identifiers for locations over time - Hover/click interactivity mapped to timeline state - UI components (e.g. tooltip, timeline slider) that work across devices This is possible, but requires care in interface design.
# Continuous Integration Pipeline Setting up a CI system to regenerate tectonic animation data is feasible, but involves: - Scripting GPlates (or pyGPlates) to generate time-sliced data - Converting shapefiles or internal formats into GeoJSON/TopoJSON - Validating geometry (e.g. winding order, precision) - Packaging and publishing static site assets - Optional GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD for automation This requires basic scripting and DevOps skills, plus some geological domain knowledge to interpret or validate model updates.
# Open Source Project Feasibility This is an excellent project for a small open-source student team. It includes real-world skills: - Scientific data handling - Web visualization (Globe.gl, Three.js) - UI/UX for time navigation - CI pipelines (GitHub Actions, shell scripts, data packaging) - Interdisciplinary collaboration (science + code) Estimated Time: - MVP prototype with 10–20 time steps: 2–4 weeks - Interactive wiki integration: 1–2 weeks - CI pipeline: 2–3 weeks - Total: 6–10 weeks for a working, open-source deliverable
# Risks - GPlates' CLI scripting (pyGPlates) is not trivial - Keeping data updated requires maintenance - Scientific validation (e.g. rotation accuracy) is out of scope for most student teams unless supervised - Mobile browser quirks may require fallback layers or reduced features
# See - Earth Timeline - Hitchhiker Globe and Globe Sprint - Globe Video Guide and GPlates Timeline - Globe Timeline Triggers - Globe.gl and Globe Timeline Triggers - Plate Tectonics