Going virtual with geographic information and scientific visualization
Computers & Geosciences - Special issue on exploratory cartographic visualization
XML---an opportunity for meaningful data standards in the geosciences
Computers & Geosciences
Virtual GIS: A Real-Time 3D Geographic Information System
VIS '95 Proceedings of the 6th conference on Visualization '95
MAP IT: The GIS software for field mapping with tablet pc
Computers & Geosciences
Digital geological mapping with tablet PC and PDA: A comparison
Computers & Geosciences
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Multi-scale geological models contain three-dimensional, spatially referenced data, typically spanning at least six orders of magnitude from outcrop to regional scale. A large number of different geological and geophysical data sources can be combined into a single model. Established 3D visualisation methods that are widely used in hydrocarbon exploration and production for sub-surface data have been adapted for onshore surface geology through a combination of methods for digital data acquisition, 3D visualisation, and geospatial analysis. The integration of georeferenced data across a wider than normal range in scale helps to address several of the existing limitations that are inherent in traditional methods of map production and publishing. The primary advantage of a multi-scale approach is that spatial precision and dimensionality (which are generally degraded when data are displayed in 2D at a single scale) can be preserved at all scales. Real-time, immersive, interactive software, based on a ''3D geospatial'' graphical user interface (GUI), allows complex geological architectures to be depicted, and is more inherently intuitive than software based on a standard ''desktop'' GUI metaphor. The continuing convergence of different kinds of geo-modelling, GIS, and visualisation software, as well as industry acceptance of standardised middleware, has helped to make multi-scale geological models a practical reality. This is illustrated with two case studies from NE England and NW Scotland.