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eRock: An Open-Access Repository of Virtual

Outcrops for Geoscience Education

Adam J. Cawood , Clare E. Bond, Dept. of Geology & Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UK
1
Visualizing objects and structures in
3D is a task that most people, including e-rock.co.uk
geologists, find difficult. Geoscience Home Browse 3D Collections Virtualﬁeld trips Contribute About
educators and students often find field- eRo cK
based exercises the most effective Folding at Broadhaven
medium for understanding complex Pembrokeshire, SW Wales Broadhaven
Collections
geological concepts and visualizing rela- One of The Geological Society's 100 Great Geosites . Asymmetric
and coal
folds in interbedded Carboniferous siltstones, shales
tionships in 3D (e.g., Elkins and Elkins, horizons are cut here by a number of northward-propagating
thrusts. This classic structure has been studied in some detail (e.g.
2007). Unfortunately, field-based training Williams and Chapman,1983) as it provides an excellent outcrop
example to examine the interplay between faulting
and folding
during deformation
.
is not available to everyone. Traditional Lat: 51°47'11.73"N
barriers to this field-based training Long: 5° 6'14.68"W
include physical disabilities, lack of
financial resources, and geographical
restrictions. Recent advances in data
acquisition and processing have the
potential to circumvent these traditional
barriers to access and open up a vast
number of field sites to a diverse range Rotate and examine the virtual outcrop. See how many thrust faults you canﬁnd.Are there any
and mud-rich
(e.g. angle or length) between the sand-rich
layers?
differences in fault geometries
of people.
Contact
3D RECONSTRUCTIONS Figure 1. Example of a virtual outcrop page at eRock (www.e-rock.co.uk/broadhaven).
FOR RESEARCH AND
COMMUNICATION PUBLIC-DOMAIN DIGITAL models for e-learning in medical sciences,
Advances in computer technology and ARCHIVES: FROM 2D TO 3D digitally reconstructed archaeological
increased availability of affordable acquisi- The past two decades have seen a surge sites, and digital versions of culturally
tion tools mean that 3D reconstructions of in the number of open-access digital important objects (e.g., The Rosetta Stone;
outcrop and landscapes are increasingly archives available online, such as curated www.sketchfab.com/britishmuseum).
used by the geoscience community as a collections of public-domain art (e.g., This variety of content suggests that 3D
research tool. Virtual outcrops derived www.metmuseum.org). Sculptures and rendering has great potential as a tool in a
from LiDAR and digital photogrammetry objects in these digital collections are wide variety of applications, from digitally
can provide a wealth of detailed geological typically shown in pseudo-3D by capturing preserving cultural heritage to helping
information (e.g., Cawood et al., 2017) and them through a series of images from students understand the 3D structure of
as such, these 3D realizations are gaining different viewpoints. Recent advances in objects. Currently, however, this resource
traction as an accessible means of commu- 3D rendering, however, mean that these has not yet been systematically developed
nicating geoscience within industry and objects can now be digitally reconstructed in the geoscience community—there
academia. In spite of these developments, and made available online in true 3D remains a lack of efficiently collated,
little has been done to leverage this tech- format through online viewers. Sketchfab open-access 3D material online.
nology as a tool for education in the geo- (www.sketchfab.com), a resource origi-
sciences. We attribute this to (1) the nally made for the gaming and computer eROCK: AN OPEN-ACCESS
requirement, until recently, for specialist animation community, is the best known REPOSITORY OF VIRTUAL
software packages to render 3D digital of these viewers. OUTCROPS
objects, and (2) the widespread use of inac- Sketchfab is being used by a growing eRock (www.e-rock.co.uk) is an online
cessible, proprietary data banks to store number of educators, scientists, and archi- resource that presents virtual outcrops
virtual outcrops used in applied research. vists: examples include 3D anatomical through an accessible, geoscience-focused

1 Email: adam.cawood@abdn.ac.uk
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