Abstract
Abstract. V3Geo is a cloud-based repository for publishing virtual 3D models in geoscience. The system allows storage, search and visualisation of mesh models typically acquired using techniques such as photogrammetry and laser scanning. The platform has been developed to handle models at the range of scales typically used by geoscientists from microscopic, hand samples and fossils through to outcrop sections or terrain covering metres to tens of kilometres. The cloud storage system serves the models to a purpose-built 3D web viewer. Models are tiled to ensure efficient streaming over the Internet. The web viewer allows 3D models to be interactively explored without the need for specialist software to be installed. A measurement tool enables users to gauge simple dimensions, such as widths, thicknesses, and fault throws. V3Geo allows very large models comprising multiple sections and is designed to include additional interpretation layers. The specific focus on geoscience data is supported by defined metadata and a classification schema. Public and private storage is available, and public models are assigned Creative Commons licenses to govern content usage. This paper presents V3Geo as a sustainable resource for the geoscience community, including the motivation and main characteristics and features. Example usage scenarios are highlighted: from undergraduate geology teaching, supporting virtual geoscience education and preparing virtual field trips based on V3Geo models. Finally, best practice guidelines for preparing 3D model contributions for publication on V3Geo are included as the Appendix.
Highlights
Virtual 3D models, including virtual outcrops, are an increasingly standard data type underpinning many applications in geology and the wider geoscience discipline
Despite the increased ease of model acquisition, a major challenge associated with virtual 3D models has been the large datasets and heavy graphics hardware requirements needed for visualisation and analysis
Virtual 3D models are visualised on demand using a client web viewer, which is based on WebGL for 3D graphics
Summary
Virtual 3D models (here defined as triangulated meshes, with or without draped image texture), including virtual outcrops, are an increasingly standard data type underpinning many applications in geology and the wider geoscience discipline These 3D models, acquired using photogrammetry (frequently referred to as structure from motion, SfM), laser scanning (lidar) or other optical 3D modelling methods, offer high-resolution and accurate representations of real-world topography, hand samples, and fossils for a range of quantitative and qualitative purposes (see e.g. Buckley et al, 2008a, Eltner et al, 2016, and Howell et al, 2021, for overviews of acquisition and processing considerations). Nesbit et al (2020) presented case studies utilising several web-based solutions including Sketchfab, an open-source point cloud viewer and the Unity gaming engine, assessing each based on factors such as size of dataset handled, ease of use and level of programming knowledge required These studies highlight the practical benefits of web-based sharing of 3D models in geoscience, no current single repository has been presented for scientific and professional purposes. V3Geo provides a platform for sharing high-quality 3D data, for increasing the accessibility and range of field areas available to a global community, complementing physical field geoscience and education, and preserving field sites for posterity (where physical changes and political or access restrictions may preclude revisiting localities)
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