Visualizing Subsurface data: USGS Centennial Earthquake Catalog, Holocene Volcanoes, and Plate Boundaries
Description: As the project lead, I aimed to provide a virtual learning environment (VLEs) for geoscience students to visualize subsurface data in 3D to not only improve their learning experience but to increase their learning performance. In traditional teaching methods, students visualize earthquake locations in 2D and draw the cross-section by imagining the 3D visualization of the data. We provided an opportunity for the students to see the data in 3D. We developed desktop VR (DVR) and immersive VR (IVR) using HTC VIVE Pro and Oculus Quest.
If I want to explain visualization of data in general, we have three options: visualizing 2d data on a 2D screen which is static. Visualizing 3D data on a 2D screen as an interactive or static presentation or visualizing 3D data in a 3D environment like VR gives you natural interaction with the data. To visualize multidimensional geospatial information, we need to overlay different layers of spatial data. Depending on the subject, scale, and other technical aspects, one should decide whether to use a 2D or 3D representation. Complex large-scale subsurface data can be complicated to be represented in 2D because it makes it difficult to see a lot of spatial data overlaying on top of each other.
As a case study, I decided to visualize USGS Centennial Earthquake Catalog, Holocene volcanoes, and Plate boundaries. The map on the right is an example of a 2D map that students in geosciences use to observe earthquake locations around the world. Different colors of earthquake locations show the depth of the earthquakes. The darkest blue is a depth between 550 km and 730 km. volcanoes are colored based on being in subduction zones, rift zones, and intraplate settings. The earthquakes and volcanoes were visualized in the form of point clouds and were properly georeferenced. We asked the students to focus on 4 regions: South America, Tonga-Kermadec, Japan, and eastern Alaska.
Whether the data is presented in IVR, DVR, or as a 2D map, the goal of teaching students about earthquakes and subduction zones is to see if students can visualize the cross-section of earthquake events and draw a block diagram: to visualize the profile of spatial phenomena by transforming 3D data in 2D is called cross-sectioning.
Here is the link to the web experience. Below you can see the recorded video of the experience using Oculus Quest.
Collaborators: Penn State Strategic Planning Award, Mahda M. Bagher, Pejman Sajjadi, Jan Oliver Walgrun, Julia Carr, Peter La Femina, Alexander Klippel
Developers: Mahda M. Bagher, Pejman Sajjadi
Environmental data type(s) used:
USGS Centennial Earthquake Catalog, text file: this global catalog of well-located earthquakes from 1900 to 2008 allows for the investigation of the depth and lateral extent of seismicity at plate boundaries.
Depth information: less than 35 km; between 35 and 70 km; between 70 and 150 km; between 150 and 350 km; between 350 and 550 km deep events; between 550 and 720 km
The location of Holocene (i.e., $<$10,000 yrs) volcanoes, Excel XML (volcanoes in; subduction zones, rift zones, and intraplate settings)
Plate Boundary (trench, transform, and ridge), Shapefile.
Worldmap, Shapefile.
Software used: ArcGIS Pro, Blender, and Unity.
Workflow/development:
Results:
We conducted three empirical studies to find out (1) whether VR is superior to traditional teaching methods, (2) whether the design of interaction techniques matters, and (3) how much embodiment is necessary to improve learning experience and performance. The results have shown that VR helps facilitate spatial learning, such as learning geospatial information. Students with low domain knowledge benefit from exposure to the 3D representation of data while interacting with the data in VR. I found that immersive VR using a headset with a design that truly incorporates all the immersive VR affordances has a higher degree of embodiment than desktop VR. The more the user feels in control and has agency, the better the learning performance. Also, the degree of introduced embodiment might not be as crucial as the design of interaction techniques for students with lower spatial ability. This is important because students’ spatial abilities can be accounted for in the design of virtual learning environments. Also, the assigned interaction technique should consider users’ differences and preferences to create a better sense of agency.
Publications:
Bagher, M. M., Sajjadi, P., Wallgrün, J. O., La Femina, P. C., & Klippel, A. (2022). Virtual Reality For Geospatial Education: Immersive Technologies Enhance Sense of Embodiment. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/15230406.2022.2122569
Bagher, M. M., Sajjadi, P., Wallgrün, J. O., La Femina, P. C., & Klippel, A. (2021). Move The Object or Move The User: The Role of Interaction Techniques on Embodied Learning in VR. Front. Virtual Real. 2: 695312. doi: 10.3389/frvir.
Bagher, M. M., Sajjadi, P., Carr, J., La Femina, P., & Klippel, A. (2020). Fostering Penetrative Thinking in Geosciences Through Immersive Experiences: A Case Study in Visualizing Earthquake Locations in 3D. In Immersive Learning Research Network Conference 2020. Piscataway, (pp. 132-139). NJ: IEEE.
Bagher, M. M., Sajjadi, P., Carr, J. C., Leonard, L. N., La Femina, P. C., & Klippel, A. (2020, December). Visualizing Earthquake Locations in an Immersive Learning Environment. In AGU Fall Meeting 2020. AGU.