Towards the Virtual Outcrop

Extract: Increasingly geologists are turning to digital mapping technologies where data are captured in a digital format using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and viewed using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The Reactivation Research Group (RRG) in the Earth Sciences Department at the University of Durham and its associated spin-out company, Geospatial Research Ltd are pioneering the development of photo-realistic virtual outcrops using ground-based LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), also known informally as laser-scanning, as part of their digital mapping methodology GAVA (Geospatial Acquisition Visualisation & Analysis). These scans are highly detailed, spatially and geometrically precise models of real-world surface exposures. This means that the geoscientist can take a precise image of the outcrop back to the laboratory where it can be visualised, analysed and interpreted in ways that are comparable to those used routinely during 3D seismic interpretation.