First among my absolute favorites was the tactile joy of the
topography table, which
featured the ability to shift new, soft
land masses using composite materials and lights.
Adding local information, not captured in the coarse scale climate model or observational archives, can provide an improved representation of the relevant processes at this scale, and thus yield additional information, for instance concerning
topography,
land use or small scale
features such as sea breezes or organisation of convection.