%0 Journal Article
%T Harnessing the power of immersive virtual reality - visualization and analysis of 3D earth science data sets
%A Alex
%A Jan Oliver Wallgr¨¹n
%A Jiayan Zhao
%A Jim Norm
%A Peter C. LaFemina
%A eau
%A er Klippel
%J Geo-spatial Information Science
%D 2019
%R https://doi.org/10.1080/10095020.2019.1621544
%X ABSTRACT The availability and quantity of remotely sensed and terrestrial geospatial data sets are on the rise. Historically, these data sets have been analyzed and quarried on 2D desktop computers; however, immersive technologies and specifically immersive virtual reality (iVR) allow for the integration, visualization, analysis, and exploration of these 3D geospatial data sets. iVR can deliver remote and large-scale geospatial data sets to the laboratory, providing embodied experiences of field sites across the earth and beyond. We describe a workflow for the ingestion of geospatial data sets and the development of an iVR workbench, and present the application of these for an experience of Iceland¡¯s Thrihnukar volcano where we: (1) combined satellite imagery with terrain elevation data to create a basic reconstruction of the physical site; (2) used terrestrial LiDAR data to provide a geo-referenced point cloud model of the magmatic-volcanic system, as well as the LiDAR intensity values for the identification of rock types; and (3) used Structure-from-Motion (SfM) to construct a photorealistic point cloud of the inside volcano. The workbench provides tools for the direct manipulation of the georeferenced data sets, including scaling, rotation, and translation, and a suite of geometric measurement tools, including length, area, and volume. Future developments will be inspired by an ongoing user study that formally evaluates the workbench¡¯s mature components in the context of fieldwork and analyses activities
%U https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10095020.2019.1621544