IMPLEMENTATION OF AN EXTENDED DYNAMIC DIGITAL MAP FIELD TRIP

A geologist should learn most new, unfamiliar concepts in the field. Discovering a geologic feature in the real-world, which one had previously only read about in textbooks, likely solidifies its verity. Perhaps for this reason most professional meetings include field trips and many geology courses require mandatory field trips. Unfortunately, obstacles can arise that prevent a student from attending such trips. In these situations the professor may design a paltry substitute, which could involve a worksheet and perhaps some interaction with Google Earth if the student is lucky. Alternatively, the professor may create an Extended Dynamic Digital Map (EDDM) of the region that the field trip encompasses and an EDDM Field Trip. This data object allows the user to organize images and maps in a format that mirrors a real-world field trip. The user may create an EDDM Field Trip with any number of stops, name each individual stop, and display driving directions to the next stop and notes related to the current stop. To demonstrate the ease with which a person may design an EDDM Field Trip we created an EDDM Field Trip that follows a classic trip taken by students enrolled in Introduction to Geology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This field trip showcases the major tectonic features preserved in Western Massachusetts from the Taconic Orogeny. The trip also focuses on various textures of metamorphic rocks that further demonstrate the structural history of the area. The specific data that illustrates this broad array of topics in a format digestible to budding geologists includes (1) regional geographic maps, (2) regional thematic geologic maps, (3) schematic diagrams of the regional tectonic location, (4) aerial photographs, and (5) high-resolution photographs of outcrops and other related geologic features. Though geology should be studied and discovered in the field, oftentimes students are unable to attend mandatory field trips due to schedule conflicts or physical disabilities. An EDDM Field Trip is a substitute for such busy or physically-handicapped students. We specifically designed EDDM Field Trips to display data in a manner that mirrors the format of real-world field trips, and so this data object is better suited to the task than other facsimiles.