Abstract
We document and show a state-of-the-art methodology that could allow geoheritage sites (geosites) to become accessible to scientific and non-scientific audiences through immersive and non-immersive virtual reality applications. This is achieved through a dedicated WebGIS platform, particularly handy in communicating geoscience during the COVID-19 era. For this application, we selected nine volcanic outcrops in Santorini, Greece. The latter are mainly associated with several geological processes (e.g., dyking, explosive, and effusive eruptions). In particular, they have been associated with the famous Late Bronze Age (LBA) eruption, which made them ideal for geoheritage popularization objectives since they combine scientific and educational purposes with geotourism applications. Initially, we transformed these stunning volcanological outcrops into geospatial models—the so called virtual outcrops (VOs) here defined as virtual geosites (VGs)—through UAV-based photogrammetry and 3D modeling. In the next step, we uploaded them on an online platform that is fully accessible for Earth science teaching and communication. The nine VGs are currently accessible on a PC, a smartphone, or a tablet. Each one includes a detailed description and plenty of annotations available for the viewers during 3D exploration. We hope this work will be regarded as a forward model application for Earth sciences’ popularization and make geoheritage open to the scientific community and the lay public.
Highlights
Virtual reality techniques can be used for 3D visualization in geoinformation, and geological sciences [1,2], where the virtual scenario can be based on open or ad hoc created geospatial datasets [3], including digital terrain/surface models and bathymetric data [4]
The present paper aims to showcase nine virtual geosites (VGs) belonging to the Santorini volcanic complex, representing a stunning volcanotectonic environment, the result of multiple caldera collapses associated with major explosive activity [24], using both virtual reality (VR)
We described an approach devoted to making volcanic features available to the scientific community and the lay public, based on a new, cutting-edge methodology for sharing virtual geosites (VGs)
Summary
Virtual reality techniques can be used for 3D visualization in geoinformation, and geological sciences [1,2], where the virtual scenario (or landscape) can be based on open or ad hoc created geospatial datasets [3], including digital terrain/surface models and bathymetric data [4]. Geoheritage is strictly related to geological heritage sites or geosites These can be regarded as elements of the geosphere, which can contribute to a better knowledge and understanding of Earth’s history; they are geological features, marked by a cultural, scientific, social, aesthetic, and economic value [16]. Web-based GIS platforms have succeeded in enhancing data access and dissemination, spatial data exploration, and visualization capabilities and provide additional options for processing, analyzing, and modeling available datasets [25]. This has led to the ever-increasing popularity of WebGIS in various fields. VGs, (ii) to perform a qualitative assessment of the selected VGs, and (iii) to show how a dedicated, WebGIS platform can be used to make the VGs available worldwide, contributing to the promotion and valorization of such invaluable elements of the Greek geoheritage
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