GIGAPANS AND GIGAPAN GALLERIES
GigaPans are gigapixel panoramic images that can be explored through a wide range of magnifications because of the high level of detail preserved in the image. The GigaPan robotic camera mount is compatible with a wide range of digital cameras and can be used to create high resolution panoramas ranging in scale from hand sample to landscape. Photos acquired via the mount are stitched together using associated imaging software, which can also be used to generate gigapixel panoramas from other sources, such as thin section or satellite images. While panoramas are viewable within the stitching software, a web-based interface provided by the GigaPan website (www.gigapan.com) allows the owner to georeference pans and provide more information via a caption. Users to the site can annotate pans with snapshots that record specific locations and magnification levels (with associated comments) and can also create GigaPan Galleries, groups of pans organized for easy future browsing.
This interactive session will explore the creation of GigaPans at multiple scales (thin section, hand-sample, outcrop, and landscape) and the use of the GigaPan website to georeference and annotate generated pans as well as effective search and gallery creation techniques. Specific applications of these images for education and research will be explored, including examples of classroom activities and independent exercises that encourage students to take an active inquiry-based approach to understanding geoscience concepts and the use of GigaPans as both records of field locations and as additional datasets for detailed analysis and comparison with other field datasets.