High-resolution topography data acquired with lidar (light detection and ranging) technology are revolutionizing the way we study Earth surface processes. These data permit analysis of the mechanisms that drive landscape evolution at resolutions not previously possible yet essential for their appropriate representation. Unfortunately, the volume of data produced by the technology, software requirements, and a steep learning curve are barriers to lidar utilization. To encourage access to these data we use Keyhole Markup Language (KML) and Google Earth to deliver lidar-derived visualizations of these data for research and educational purposes. Display of full-resolution images derived from lidar in the Google Earth virtual globe is a powerful way to view and explore these data. Through region-dependent network linked KML (a.k.a., super-overlay), users are able to access lidar-derived imagery stored on a remote server from within Google Earth. This method provides seamless, Internet-based access to imagery through the simple download of a small KML-format file from the OpenTopography Facility portal. Lidar-derived imagery in Google Earth is the most popular product available via OpenTopography and has greatly enhanced the usability and thus impact of these data. Users ranging from scientists to K–12 educators have downloaded KML files ~12,000 times during the first eight months of 2011. The overwhelming usage of these data products demonstrates the impact of this simple yet novel approach for delivering easy to use lidar data visualizations to Earth scientists, students, and the general public.

Google Earth offers an excellent example of software design balancing enough power while retaining a simple and intuitive interface, and provides tremendous capabilities both for teaching and research interaction. It displays data with a well-documented, standard keyhole markup language (KML) format on generally high resolution base imagery, with roads, borders and other relevant layers which can be turned on and off, and allows easy combination of multiple data sets. Google Earth lacks the analysis capabilities of geographical information system (GIS) software, but is outstanding for visualization and dissemination of results. Users can zoom in and out and view animations or 3-D displays of the data. The freeware MICRODEM program allows easy export of GIS data to KML and linking of text and graphics to an icon on the map, and it facilitates registration of maps. Examples of this usage include student projects, animations used for teaching, sharing data among research groups, and interactive display of published maps. For the earth sciences, where almost all data has a geographic component, virtual globes provide an integrated way to interact with information.

Utilizing 3D photorealistic outcrop models for research and education is becoming more and more common in industry and academia. A system is presented for annotating on preloaded distortion-free photos used for model construction while in front of a real outcrop or a virtual 3D model in the lab or classroom. This interaction is accomplished through tracing geologic boundaries, writing notes and recording locations using an applet on an iPad. These geologic tracings are sent to a PC where 3D geometric information is extracted with a provided MatLab program. Annotations on the photo can then be visualized on the 3D model because control points from the model building process link 2D pixels on the photo with the 3D mesh by six transformation coefficients. The MatLab Program separates meaningful geological information based on pixel value defined by geologists for further analysis (strike/dip, rock type, etc.). Therefore geological features can be attributed, annotated, quantitatively analyzed and visualized in 3D or 3D stereo with available software. The University of Texas at Dallas as well as other groups have been creating such 3D models with laser scanning, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) and digital photography since 1998. This approach can be used on any photorealistic model built based on the transformation correlation between imagery and 3D geometry. The website www.utdallas.edu/iGeology provides access to several such models of road cuts across the Arbuckle Anticline, Oklahoma. An instructor or project leader can access and set up the environment for students or users. This is not a field geologic logging/mapping system but is designed for interacting with and extracting quantitative from existing virtual models for research and education. Computations taking place on the PC are transparent to the user, and therefore the system can be readily used in academia and industry at many different levels of expertise. The tablet's portability enables users to interact with the outcrop in the field or with a 3D display in the lab. Similar applications can be built on android tablets. The system is provided in detail in three appendices.

Google Earth tours (GETs) are recorded flights around Google Earth. They are highly engaging to watch and have great potential for communicating spatially in a teaching environment. They also benefit from being easy for an educator to produce but they can be ineffective if they are designed poorly. With this in mind, in this paper we cover three main topics: (1) we consider how best to produce GETs, (2) we deconstruct them as a communication media and finally (3), we consider the larger educational context in which they are used. By reviewing literature relevant to these areas we produce 19 best practices for using GETs in education. The amount of evidence we can show in support of our best practices varies. Those that were generated by comparing GETs to the well-researched area of educational animations are highly reliable because they are based on empirical evidence. Those associated with the virtual flights between locations within a GET are more open to interpretation as they have been less well studied. We conclude that further work should be focused on investigating virtual flight within a GET.