GOING DIGITAL: THE PROS AND CONS OF DIGITAL GEOLOGIC MAPPING AND THE HISTORY OF “FIELDMOVE”

For over a century, field geologists have been trained in paper based mapping techniques, which are advantageous in their ease of use, low cost, and versatility in a variety of field environments. Digital methods for data collection and field mapping are becoming more common as computer hardware and software components become more advanced, but how do they measure up to traditional field mapping techniques? We explore this question by describing early field tests that steered the development of a digital geologic mapping application (FieldMove). During a 2009 field season, “paper based geologists” mapped a small field area in NW Scotland alongside “digital geologists” using ruggedized tablet pc’s with non-field specific mapping software (Midland Valley’s 2DMove). Goals were 1) to determine the pros and cons of digital vs. paper mapping techniques, 2) to determine how to improve the paper-to-digital workflow, and 3) to develop specifications for a future software package (now called FieldMove) designed for geologic field mapping on tablet pc’s. We found digital geologists to be slightly slower from outcrop-to-outcrop, but faster and more effective than paper based geologists overall due to the following reasons. Paper based geologists were forced to focus on data backup (digitizing or inking in maps) upon returning from the field, while the digital geologist could instantly back up data to an external hard drive. Digital geologists were free to utilize software tools to do analyses, thus improving geologic understanding and field plans for the following day’s work. More generally, we find that the limitations of digital field mapping vary tremendously by field location, funding institution (industry vs. geo survey vs. university) and mapping environment, but are minor compare to the benefits. Limitations include cost of deployment for universities, access to adequate power sources in the field, and hardware/software limitations such as screen brightness on some tablet pc’s.