Analysts are often tasked with exploring a data collection in search of a particular item of interest or a set of items that all match given criteria. Because the criteria may not be known ahead of time, users can benefit from having a system that can reveal the characteristics within the collection and allow them to uncover items of interest.

PNNL scientists have developed search systems and computer-implemented search methods that include a communications interface configured to access a plurality of data items of a collection and navigate classifications. The data items include a plurality of image objects individually comprising image data used to generate an image of the respective data item. The search system contains processing circuitry coupled with the communications interface and configured to process the image data from the collection to identify a plurality of image content indicative of image content contained within the images.  The image objects can be associated with the image content facets and a display coupled with the processing circuitry and then configured to depict the image objects associated with the image content facets.