Atmosphere AR
Education
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Visualize Earth's atmosphere in augmented reality — wind circulation, temperature, and lightning overlaid on your map or globe.
Atmosphere AR is an educational augmented reality app that brings atmospheric science to life. Point your iPhone camera at a printed world map or globe to visualize how Earth's atmosphere actually moves.
WIND CIRCULATION MODELS
Explore two foundational models of global atmospheric circulation with animated particles and stream trails:
- Single Cell Model — the simplest model of global circulation, showing a single continuous loop of rising and falling air per hemisphere
- Three Cell Model — Earth's actual circulation pattern, showing the Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar cells with realistic Coriolis-deflected trade winds, westerlies, and polar easterlies
- ERA5 Real Data — compare theoretical models against actual measured wind data from ECMWF reanalysis, updated monthly
TEMPERATURE OVERLAY
Explore surface and upper atmosphere temperatures from ERA5 reanalysis data. Use the pressure level slider to move through the atmosphere from the warm surface layer (1000 hPa) up to the cold upper troposphere (100 hPa, ~16km altitude).
LIGHTNING OVERLAY
View global lightning flash frequency from GOES-18 Geostationary Lightning Mapper satellite observations. See how lightning concentrates near the ITCZ equatorial convergence zone — connecting directly to the Hadley cell circulation pattern.
VIRTUAL GLOBE
Scan a globe tracker to spawn an interactive 3D Earth in your space. Drag with one finger to rotate, pinch with two fingers to scale. All wind, temperature, and lightning overlays work on the globe as well as the flat map.
EDUCATIONAL DESIGN
Built for students, educators, and anyone curious about Earth's atmosphere. The info panel explains what you are seeing — including the science behind the Coriolis effect, cell boundaries, and how real atmospheric data compares to theoretical models.
Tracker images are available at https://xr.cisess.umd.edu/atmosphere-ar
DATA SOURCES & CREDITS
- Wind & temperature data: ERA5, ECMWF / Copernicus Climate Change Service
- Lightning data: GOES-18 GLM, NOAA
- Map tracker: Blue Marble, NASA
- Globe tracker: © EUMETSAT
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
The developer, University of Maryland, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- University of Maryland
- Size
- 178.9 MB
- Category
- Education
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
• iPhone 6S
• iPhone 6S Plus
• iPhone SE (1st generation)
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone X
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2nd generation)
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13
• iPhone SE (3rd generation)
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 17
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 18 Pro
• iPhone 18 Pro Max
• iPhone Duo - iPad
Requires iPadOS 15.0 or later.
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch)
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (9.7‑inch)
• iPad Pro (9.7‑inch) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad (5th generation)
• iPad (5th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (2nd generation)
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (2nd generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (10.5‑inch)
• iPad Pro (10.5‑inch) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad (6th generation)
• iPad (6th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (11‑inch)
• iPad Pro (11‑inch) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (3rd generation)
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (3rd generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad mini (5th generation)
• iPad mini (5th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air (3rd generation)
• iPad Air (3rd generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad (7th generation)
• iPad (7th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (11‑inch) (2nd generation)
• iPad Pro (11‑inch) (2nd generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (4th generation)
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (4th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air (4th generation)
• iPad Air (4th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad (8th generation)
• iPad (8th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (11-inch) (3rd generation)
• iPad Pro (11-inch) (3rd generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (5th generation)
• iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (5th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad mini (6th generation)
• iPad mini (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad (9th generation)
• iPad (9th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air (5th generation)
• iPad Air (5th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad (10th generation)
• iPad (10th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (11‑inch) (4th generation)
• iPad Pro (11‑inch) (4th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (6th generation)
• iPad Pro (12.9‑inch) (6th generation) Wi‑Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 11-inch (M2)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M2) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 13-inch (M2)
• iPad Air 13-inch (M2) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)
• iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad mini (A17 Pro)
• iPad mini (A17 Pro) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad (A16)
• iPad (A16) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 11-inch (M3)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M3) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 13-inch (M3)
• iPad Air 13-inch (M3) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M5)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 13-inch (M5)
• iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 11-inch (M4)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 13-inch (M4)
• iPad Air 13-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad mini (A20 Pro)
• iPad mini (A20 Pro) Wi-Fi + Cellular - iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
• iPod touch (7th generation) - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 XR at CISESS