Virtual geology and virtual field trips

3D visualization skills are essential in geology, but although virtual 3D tools have been available for years, we have yet to fully integrate them in our courses. In addition, physical field trips not only present accessibility problems for students with limited mobility but can be a considerable financial burden on everyone. Covid restrictions accelerated and expanded a project we were already working on: creating a collection of 3D models of rocks and outcrops to be used as a training aid in the classroom. Travel restrictions, which at our institution included a yearlong complete ban of all field courses (including one-day trips), spurred us to expand the original concept to include also a full 3D virtual environment for students to carry out field trips and mapping exercises. In choosing our tools, we considered three factors: costs, time, and level of difficulty. That meant finding commercial software and hardware that was affordable, did not require programming or engineering skills, or special licenses (e.g. pilot license for large drone), using areas for which we already had a significant amount of material, and storing our 3D models on public platforms.

We created 3D models of hand samples and of key outcrops at several field locations that we normally visit in both Spain and Germany by acquiring photos and movies in the field using hand-held cameras and a small drone (which in Europe only requires insurance and operator's registration). We then processed imagery to produce scaled and georeferenced models with Metashape Pro. We used 3DVista Pro, originally designed for real estate showcasing, to produce immersive and interactive virtual field trips (VFTs). This software allowed us to link 3D models, which are stored on either Sketchfab or V3Geo, with videos, animations, photos, maps, text, and realistic sounds for each field scene. An e-learning module in the form of quizzes and game-like features can be incorporated too. We put together different types of VFT: show-and-tell standard VFTs and VFTs with a specific theme (e.g. unconformities), field exercises where students carry out measurements and observations both virtually and later in in the field, and complementary material for remote mapping courses. The reception from students has been positive, so we have kept using virtual tools after lockdown ended.