Immersive Visualizations for Marine Geohazards in the Aegean Sea: Bridging Science and Stakeholder Engagement.

Communicating marine geohazards to stakeholders can be challenging, and traditional media may not be sufficient to convey the full range of processes involved. In addition, news images of devastating events such as tsunamis and volcanic eruptions can be associated with prejudice and fear, hindering fact-based awareness-raising. With recent advances in computer graphics and virtual reality headset hardware, immersive visualization methods are becoming accessible to a wider scientific community. Virtual presentations of different local scenarios provide an opportunity to discuss with experts, policy makers and the general public, overcoming abstraction and prejudice and transforming scenarios into realistic and spatially explicit experiences.

The MULTI-MAREX collaborative project is establishing a living lab in the Aegean Sea to study extreme marine geological events and associated hazards, with the aim of developing the knowledge needed to manage geohazards at different scales. Digital reconstruction of real, physical study sites leads to and enhances situational awareness, resulting in a personalized, in-depth understanding of local scenarios. Accessibility of the communication format is important to reach the target user.

We are exploring a wide range of hardware options, from the portability and convenience of smartphones, to the highly immersive experiences offered by head-mounted displays, through immersive simulators such as video walls and dome theatres. These diverse platforms ensure that immersive visualizations are adaptable to different user needs and environments, facilitating greater accessibility and engagement across stakeholder groups. We focus on developing workflows for geoscientists to enable semi-automated, asset-enhanced, immersive visualization that synthesize collected remote sensing data, such as terrestrial and marine digital outcrop models, hydroacoustic and numerical simulations within popular game engines. The use of popular game engines to seamlessly integrate different data types enables dynamic and interactive environments where users can explore scenarios in real time, enhancing both scientific analysis and stakeholder engagement to bridge the gap between complex geohazard science and effective stakeholder understanding, enabling informed decision making and risk management.