ABSTRACT Modern field-focused exercises for the geosciences need to reflect changes in the foci of undergraduate curricula, as well as changes in student demographics and expectations, in order to best prepare students for their post-graduation careers. Traditional approaches to field education emphasize developing data collection skills and synthesis of information, but also reflect a predominantly masculine aesthetic of rugged hiking, physical endurance, and independence. To enhance inclusion in the geosciences and improve workforce development, geoscience field education in the twenty-first century should provide opportunities for learning for all students, regardless of mobility challenges or other impediments to on-location fieldwork. New approaches to designing field exercises should incorporate inclusive design, while remaining focused on accepted learning objectives of field-focused education. On this field trip, participants will visit a field area in northeastern West Virginia (USA) that features classic Appalachian Paleozoic stratigraphy and structural deformation, characteristic of a foreland fold and thrust belt. Many outcrops are accessible to students across a spectrum of mobilities, with virtual exercise components available to all students as needed. During the field trip, participants will discuss the field exercise in the contexts of digital data collection, geologic mapping on mobile devices, and tectonic synthesis. Participants will also consider how the design of field exercises can facilitate participation by all students, regardless of marginalization, perceived limitations, or restrictions.

Abstract The British Geological Survey (BGS) is developing integrated environmental models to address the grand challenges that face society. Here we describe the BGS vision for an Environmental Modelling Platform (BGS 2009) that will allow integrated models to be built, and describe case studies of emerging models in the United Kingdom. This Environmental Modelling Platform will be founded on the data and information that the BGS holds. This will have to be made as accessible and interoperable as possible to both the academic and stakeholder decision-making community. The geological models that have been built in an ad hoc way over the last 5–10 years will be encompassed in a National Geological Model that will be multi-scaled, beginning with onshore UK and eventually including the offshore continental shelf. The future will be characterized by the routine delivery of 3D model products from a multi-scaled and scalable 3D geological model of the UK that can be dynamically updated. The deployment of this model will generate further significant requirements across the Information and Knowledge Exchange spectrum, from applications development (database, GIS, web and mobile device), data management, information product development, to delivery to a growing number of publics and stakeholders.

Abstract Significant advances in geosciences data acquisition, visualization and analysis now allow highly detailed outcrop models to be constructed for a range of petroleum industry purposes. From a given field locality, a virtual outcrop is created from a centimetre-scale digital elevation model and colour photographs with geological information overlaid as appropriate. In a visualization environment, these datasets can be viewed sequentially to simulate undertaking a fieldtrip. These virtual fieldtrips allow geoscientists to improve and expand the traditional fieldwork experience in a number of ways, ranging from planning and health and safety considerations for management, to providing live supplemental technical content on a mobile device to the fieldtrip participant. The fieldtrips are easily archived and content can be reviewed in the office to provide analogue information during technical work. Examples of virtual fieldtrips are provided on the DVD that accompanies this volume.

ABSTRACT In order to address the most important Earth science questions, field scientists must incorporate new cyberinfrastructure (CI) technologies into their workflow and replace some of the traditional, analog methodologies that still prevail today (e.g., notebook, pen, and transit compass). Geologic field data collected via analog methods are far less likely to be fully digitized and integrated with other datasets. Cyberinfrastructure allows data longevity beyond the original investigator. Digital platforms that facilitate data sharing will help break down the artificial barriers between subfields within the Earth sciences and allow researchers to ask new types of questions and provide the means to contend with those that were previously unanswerable. Close communication and coordination between field-based geologists and computer scientists will facilitate the best cyberinfrastructure and data management for the future. Through a National Science Foundation (NSF)/EarthCube–funded project, discussions between these two groups of scientists were undertaken in a field setting so that computer scientists could better understand the type of data geologists collect and how those geoscientists desire to integrate various types of data into their workflow. Similarly, geologists gained a better understanding of how computer scientists can represent, manipulate, and archive complex data in data management systems, with potential solutions to field data challenges. These discussions centered on the unique issues faced by the geological community regarding the collection, storage, manipulation, representation, and integration of field-based data.