CHARACTERIZATION OF GEOLOGICAL OUTCROPS IN THE UPSTATE NEW YORK REGION USING GIGA-PIXEL PANORAMIC IMAGERY

A GigaPan is a portable robotic instrument upon which a conventional DSLR camera can be mounted, and hundreds of overlapping digital photographs of an area of interest can be acquired. These images are then stitched together to create a zoom-able giga-pixel panorama. The GigaPan instrument was originally developed for use on the Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers to collect high-resolution panoramas of Mars, and have since been adapted into a user-friendly apparatus for field-based applications. GigaPans have been widely utilized for studies in entomology, archeology, and time-lapse photography. However, use of them in field-based geological research is still in its early stages. We have used a GigaPan instrument to acquire panoramic images of five geological outcrops in upstate New York: McIntyre Bluffs (Sterling, NY), Taughannock Falls (Trumansburg, NY), and three exposures of metamorphic and igneous rocks in the Adirondak region (Canton, NY and Governeur, NY).

Using the panoramic images acquired from these five locations, observations and interpretations were made regarding grain size, clast distribution, major joints and faults, erosional features, stratigraphic layers, and other significant geologic features. Panoramas were annotated in detail to reflect the location and extent of these features. While the images do not allow for absolute measurements such as strike and dip, they have proven extremely useful for making both qualitative (color, relative size, shape) and some quantitative (lengths, heights, spatial relationships) observations. GigaPan technology has great potential to make geology more accessible to students and researchers alike. Study and interpretation of an outcrop can largely be done in the classroom or laboratory using a panoramic image, without the need for physical access to the location. This is specifically advantageous for areas that cannot be easily reached for physical study, or are only accessible for a portion of the year.