DIGITALLY RECORDING, MAPPING AND PRESENTATION OF GEOLOGIC FIELD DATA

Tablet computers are allowing for digital field data collection, enhanced field interpretation, and more seamless and sophisticated presentations of data. Traditional field-based classes train students to collect field data manually on paper maps and in field notebooks. However, because the use of digital analysis methodologies (GIS, Google Earth, Stereonet, spreadsheet and drawing programs) is now commonplace, analog data typically needs to be manually transferred into digital formats, a process that is both cumbersome and prone to transcription error.

We have developed an application for iOS (iPad) that digitally records field data. While not a complete mapping program, the app allows to the user to bypass the analog field book. The user can select from a suite of field observations: contact, bedding, faults, joints, and “other”. The exact information gathered depends on the nature of the observation, but common to all is the ability to log date, time, and lat/long directly using the onboard GPS. Scroll wheel data entry insures data format uniformity from day-to-day and across mapping groups. Photos taken using the tablet’s camera are linked to each record. Post fieldwork, all data can be exported to a .csv file for subsequent analysis.

Within the app, each observation is instantly displayed on a real-time or cached Apple image base with strike/dip, fault or joint symbols correctly oriented. The live display of the user’s location on the map also reduces the need for navigation using paper maps. This functionality allows students and practicing geologists to be more efficient in the field, testing field hypotheses and focusing on areas that require more attention.

The app has been field-tested twice as part of an extensive undergraduate mapping project in Wyoming. Each mapping group uses their own field geologic database to construct a report on the region’s geologic history. The report itself is completed entirely digitally as well, with all maps, cross-section, stereoplots, and structural information combined in Adobe Illustrator layers. Not only does this digital approach result in a powerful way to present the data, it allows the students to gain a greater understanding of the region’s geology because they can turn layers on and off and develop a better appreciation for the 3-dimensional geologic relationships.