Restoring maps and memoirs to four-dimensional space using virtual globe technology: a case study from the Scottish Highlands

Abstract

Abstract Ben Peach and John Horne contributed to a revolution in the visualization of stratigraphy and structures using geological maps and cross-sections. In the century since their pioneering fieldwork, the analysis of map structures and the restoration of folds and faults in cross-sections have played a key role in enabling generations of structural geologists to develop theories of displacement and deformation in orogenic belts. However, classical printed maps have practical limitations. They are often inaccessible, they may be difficult to interpret and they are expensive to update when errors or new data come to light. Today, a new wave of the geological mapping revolution is in progress thanks to interactive geo-browsers such as Google Earth, which are opening up possibilities for tectonic visualization that were inconceivable only a decade ago. We discuss the digital deconstruction of classical geological maps of the British Isles and Ireland, such as those by William Smith, Sir Archibald Geikie, Ben Peach & John Horne, and others, and we demonstrate how Google Earth and Google SketchUp can turn the digitized versions of these maps into truly four-dimensional spatio-temporal visualizations.