Recent advances in digital technologies, including remote sensing, digital mapping, mobile applications, extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI), have created new opportunities for geodiversity and geoheritage research, assessment, mapping and monitoring as well as for outreach and geotourism.
For instance, Augmented Reality (AR) can overlay digital content onto real sites and objects, revealing features that cannot be directly observed. Its applications include reconstructing past landscapes, enriching museum collections, and supporting on-site geoheritage interpretation. Virtual Reality (VR), meanwhile, immerses users in a fully simulated environment, providing remote access to geosites, virtual outcrops, museums and field activities.
AI-based methods are also increasingly being explored in geodiversity and geoheritage studies and applications. At the same time, their use raises important questions concerning scientific reliability, data quality, accessibility, inclusivity, intellectual property, and ethical practice.
The session contributions examine the development, applications and critical evaluation of emerging digital and AI-based approaches in geodiversity and geoheritage research. Topics may include, but are not limited to, extended reality, virtual field experiences, 3D modelling and visualisation, digital inventories and mapping, remote sensing, citizen science, AI-assisted assessment and monitoring, mobile applications, digital interpretation, education, outreach, geoconservation, and geotourism.