Interactive 3-D Visualization and Exploration of Deepwater Geohazards
Abstract
With the movement of offshore exploration into deeper waters, the risk ofencountering geohazards has become much greater. Fortunately, recent advancesin sonar technology, positioning capabilities, and computer processing powerhave revolutionized the way we can image and explore the deep seafloor and thusdirectly address the issue of deepwater geohazards. At the core of thesetechnologies has been the development of multibeam sonar and 3-D seismicsystems that can provide near 100 percent coverage of relatively large areas ofthe seafloor with high resolution. The massive amounts of data produced bythese systems present many challenges, but also offer tremendous opportunitiesin terms of visualization and analysis. Interactive 3-D visualization andexploration tools specifically designed to facilitate the interpretation andanalysis of very large (10's to 100's of megabytes), complex, multi-componentspatial data sets collected during exploration and site surveys. These toolsoffer a powerful new approach to addressing the problems of geohazard riskassessment and mitigation. If properly georeferenced and treated, complex datasets can be presented in a natural and intuitive manner that allows theintegration of multiple components, each at their inherent level of resolution,and without compromising the quantitative nature of the data. Artificialsun-illumination, shading, and 3-D rendering can be used with digitalbathymetric data (DTM's) to form natural looking and easily interpretable, yetquantitative, landscapes. Color can be used to represent depth or otherparameters (like backscatter or sediment properties) which can be draped overthe DTM, or high-resolution imagery can be texture mapped on bathymetric orsubsurface data. When combined with interactive analytical tools, this approachcan greatly increase the speed and confidence with which deepwater hazards canbe assessed and mitigated.
Department
Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping
Publication Date
5-2001
Journal Title
Offshore Technology Conference (OTC)
Conference Date
May 3 - May 6, 2001
Publisher Place
Houston, TX, USA
Publisher
OTC
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.4043/12955-MS
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Recommended Citation
Mayer, Larry A.; Fonseca, Luciano E.; Ware, Colin; Paton, Mark; Gee, Lindsay; Gardner, James V.; and Orange, Dan, "Interactive 3-D Visualization and Exploration of Deepwater Geohazards" (2001). Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). 225.
https://scholars.unh.edu/ccom/225