Testing two open-source photogrammetry software as a tool to digitally preserve and objectively communicate significant geological data: the Agolla case study (Umbria-Marche Apennines)

Abstract

The digital storage and communication of significant geological data became\ud increasingly more objective and accessible through the development of new technologies or the\ud implementation of already well-known techniques as photogrammetry. Digital acquisition of\ud geometries (both structural and depositional) of significant geological outcrops is deemed\ud necessary, especially if the site concerned is liable to be damaged or hopelessly involved in natural\ud processes of geological and geomorphological evolution. In this paper, we tested the performances\ud of two different open-source software (i.e. VisualSFM and ARC3D) on a small-scale but\ud paradigmatic outcrop in the Umbria-Marche Apennines (Italy). The test showed that ARC3D\ud provides an high-resolution model, employing a relatively short time and requiring a not expensive\ud hardware support for processing hundreds of photos. In the text, 3D models of the selected outcrop\ud are reported and discussed emphasizing the potential of the method to highlight structural,\ud sedimentological and paleontological details.\ud As a result, 3D photogrammetry proved to be a powerful and effective tool to digitally conserve and\ud objectively communicate important geological observations and to facilitate accessibility and\ud dissemination of the collected data within the scientific community

Hybodont dentition from the Upper Jurassic of Monte Nerone Pelagic Carbonate Platform (Umbria‐Marche Apennine, Italy) and its ecological implications

“…A three‐dimensional photogrammetric model of the specimen was made using a 24 Megapixel Canon EOS 750D (18 mm focal length). The software used to build a photogrammetric model is Agisoft PhotoScan Pro, already successfully applied both in the geological and palaeontological field (e.g., Breithaupt, Matthews, & Noble, ; Cipriani, Citton, Romano, & Fabbi, ; Citton et al, ; Citton, Nicolosi, Carluccio, & Nicosia, , Citton, Nicosia, Nicolosi, Carluccio, & Romano, ; Díaz‐Martínez, González, & De Valais, ; Fabbi, Romano, Citton, & Cipriani, ; Lomax, Falkingham, Schweigert, & Jiménez, ; Mallison & Wings, ; Pesci et al, ; Petti et al, ; Romano, Brocklehurst, & Fröbisch, ; Romano & Citton, ). A 3D PDF of the obtained model is provided in the Supplementary Information.…”

New material of Alierasaurus ronchii (Synapsida, Caseidae) from the Permian of Sardinia (Italy), and its phylogenetic affinities

“…Three-dimensional models of rib NS 151/76 in its original strike and dip position were obtained through photogrammetry, using photographs taken soon after the discovery. Photographs have been acquired with a 10.5 Megapixel Canon EOS 400D with 18 mm focal length and the 3D models were obtained using the free software Arc 3D, a web tool for Remote 3D reconstruction (see Cipriani et al, 2016), and MeshLab which allows to 'clean up' the imperfections of the obtained model, to cover with a interpolating surface any holes in the mesh, and to delete unnecessary portions.…”

The use of aerial and close-range photogrammetry in the study of dinosaur tracksites: Lower Cretaceous (upper Aptian/lower Albian) Molfetta ichnosite (Apulia, southern Italy)

“…Ground-based photogrammetry has been performed both on small-and large-scale items (i.e., single footprints or trackways) and using both close-range and aerial images. The latter were obtained mounting digital cameras on a large variety of aircraft (helicopters, ultralights, single-engine fixed wing aircraft, blimps, and unmanned aircraft systems; Breithaupt et al, 2004;Matthews et al, 2006;Breithaupt, 2011a, b, 2012;Chapman et al, 2012;Matthews et al, 2014Matthews et al, , 2016Romilio et al, 2017). Although all these approaches provided important results for the study of single tracks, they did not fully satisfy ichnologists, both in terms of resolution or the time of execution and practicality, especially in vast tracksites (see Matthews et al, 2016).…”

“…Recently Matthews et al (2016) and Romilio et al (2017) reviewed the different approaches used to date, highlighting strong and weak points of each method. In the last two years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) (i.e., drones: quad-, hexa-, octocopters) have opened a new frontier in threedimensional (3D) ichnology and have been used for the digital modelling of medium-scale outcrops characterized by difficult accessibility (Citton et al, 2017;Romilio et al, 2017), and to digitally preserve and communicate ichnological data (Cipriani et al, 2016).…”