Data Globe
Data Globe is a space-themed audio-reactive scene in BeamTracer Audio Visualizers. Shape its response in your browser with settings, audio modulation, presets, and tips.
Data Globe is a space-themed audio-reactive scene in the Space category. Open it from the left visualizer list, start an audio source, and use the settings panel to shape its response.
Open Data Globe
Launch the visualizer with its matching left-nav entry selected.
Interesting facts
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are both driven by the same underlying process — the slow grinding and collision of Earth's tectonic plates — and satellites now let scientists watch that process unfold from orbit. BeamTracer's Data Globe renders these as live audio-reactive data layers on a stylized globe, not a scientific hazard-monitoring tool.
- Most earthquakes are never felt. USGS estimates roughly 500,000 detectable earthquakes strike the world each year; only about 100,000 are strong enough for people to notice, and roughly 100 cause real damage.
- The Ring of Fire dominates both hazards. The horseshoe-shaped belt circling the Pacific Ocean hosts about 90% of the world's earthquakes and around three-quarters of its active volcanoes, concentrated where oceanic plates dive beneath continental ones.
- One mechanism, two hazards. Along plate boundaries, subducting crust melts into magma that feeds volcanoes, while the friction and stress built up between grinding plates is what releases suddenly as an earthquake.
- Volcanoes swell before they erupt. Rising magma pushes the ground upward and outward, so tracking that inflation is one of the main ways scientists anticipate eruptions before they happen.
- Satellites now watch the ground move. NASA JPL uses interferometric radar (InSAR), comparing satellite images of the same location taken at different times, alongside GPS ground stations, to detect millimeter-scale deformation from both earthquakes and swelling volcanoes — the same technique revealed several inches of ground shift after California's 2014 Napa earthquake.
These details are summarized from the USGS Cool Earthquake Facts page and cross-checked against NASA JPL's overview of space-based radar for monitoring volcanoes and earthquakes and NASA JPL's analysis of GPS and radar data from the 2014 Napa earthquake.
Quick start
- Start the demo track, choose a local audio file, or enable a live input.
- Try a preset or style first, then open the section for the part of the image you want to change.
- On a control with Assign modulation, open the source picker, choose a signal, and watch the slider's live fill.
- Use Reset to Defaults whenever you want to return to the original look.
Presets and styles
Dark Pulse · Blue Marble · Flight Paths · Seismic · Crypto Flow · Rainbow Globe · Magma Core · Night Ops · Deep Space
Audio modulation
On a control with Assign modulation, select the activity icon to open Modulate with. Choose a named source, or choose — None to leave the control unmodulated. After you assign one, its name appears below the slider; select that name to edit the route, or use Clear modulation to remove it. The slider track shows the live signal reaching the control.
| Modulated control | Section | What the route changes |
|---|---|---|
| Column Scale | Core | Sets the visual column scale. |
| Atmosphere Intensity | Core | Sets the visible atmosphere intensity. |
| City Lights Intensity | Core | Sets the visible city lights intensity. |
| Hue Speed | Colors | Sets how quickly hue changes or moves. |
| Rotation Speed | Animation | Sets how quickly rotation changes or moves. |
| Distance | Camera | Sets how far the camera sits from the subject. |
Settings reference
Core
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Data Source | POPULATION, AIRPORTS, TECH HUBS, EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANOES, BITCOIN, COUNTRIES | Chooses the data source mode or style. |
| Globe Style | DARK, BLUE MARBLE | Chooses the globe style mode or style. |
| Column Scale | 0.05–2 | Sets the visual column scale. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Atmosphere | On / Off | Turns atmosphere on or off. |
| Atmosphere Intensity | 0–3 | Sets the visible atmosphere intensity. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Clouds | On / Off | Turns clouds on or off. |
| Satellites | On / Off | Turns satellites on or off. |
| City Lights | On / Off | Turns city lights on or off. |
| City Lights Intensity | 0–3 | Sets the visible city lights intensity. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Longitude Offset | -360–360 | Controls longitude offset; higher values increase the effect and lower values reduce it. |
Material
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Cap Color | RED, GREEN, CYAN, RAINBOW, WARM, COOL | Chooses the cap color mode or style. |
| Side Color | RED, GREEN, CYAN, RAINBOW, WARM, COOL | Chooses the side color mode or style. |
| Stroke | WHITE, BLACK, CYAN, NONE | Chooses the stroke mode or style. |
| Altitude Scale | 0–1 | Sets the visual altitude scale. |
| Cap Opacity | 0–1 | Sets how transparent the cap appears. |
| Side Opacity | 0–1 | Sets how transparent the side appears. |
Colors
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Column Color Mode | AUDIO, ELEVATION, RAINBOW | Chooses the column color mode or style. |
| Hue Animation | On / Off | Turns hue animation on or off. |
| Hue Speed | 0.01–2 | Sets how quickly hue changes or moves. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Link Color | CYAN, RAINBOW, WARM, COOL | Chooses the link color mode or style. |
| Ripple Color | ORANGE, CYAN, PURPLE, GREEN, RAINBOW | Chooses the ripple color mode or style. |
Audio
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Master Gain | 0–10 | Sets how strongly the input signal affects master. |
| Bass Intensity | 0–3 | Sets the visible bass intensity. |
| Mid Intensity | 0–3 | Sets the visible mid intensity. |
| High Intensity | 0–3 | Sets the visible high intensity. |
| Smoothing | 0.01–0.95 | Balances immediate audio response against steadier motion. |
Animation
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Rotation Speed | -1–1 | Sets how quickly rotation changes or moves. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Arc Links | On / Off | Turns arc links on or off. |
| Max Arcs | 1–60 | Controls max arcs; higher values increase the effect and lower values reduce it. |
| Arc Speed | 0.1–5 | Sets how quickly arc changes or moves. |
| Ripples | On / Off | Turns ripples on or off. |
| Ripple Speed | 0.1–5 | Sets how quickly ripple changes or moves. |
| Ripple Radius | 1–45 | Sets the visible ripple radius. |
Camera
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Auto Orbit | On / Off | Turns auto orbit on or off. |
| Distance | 400–2000 | Sets how far the camera sits from the subject. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
Stars
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Background | BLACK, GALAXY | Chooses the background mode or style. |
| Starfield | On / Off | Turns starfield on or off. |
| Star Count | 500–10000 | Sets how many visible elements are drawn. |
| Star Size | 0.5–6 | Sets the visible star size. |
Some controls appear only after you enable a related mode or style. The settings panel always reflects the options available for the current selection.
Tips for a better audio visualization
- Use bass for the largest orbital or camera motion and highs for stars, sparks, or glow accents.
- Try assigning Bass to Column Scale, then compare Mid, High, and Volume while the demo track plays. The slider's live fill shows the signal reaching that control.