Prepared Data Sets and Remote Field Teaching

At times it is not possible to take students into the field to collect their own data and learn field methods directly. There are still a variety of ways that you can help students gain many of the same skills. This page combines geodesy-related remote field teaching resources AND prepared data sets.

It also includes a few field sites that could be revisited for change detection (pre-existing survey sites) and links to the software tutorials and manuals.

If you have any data sets that would

Jump down to: Remote Field Teaching | Prepared Data Sets | Pre-existing Survey Sites | Software Tutorials

Remote Field Geodesy Teaching

When the COVID19 pandemic forced field courses to turn to remote teaching, GETSI collaborated with Sharon Bywater-Reyes (University of Northern Colorado) to support her development of a geodesy-oriented remote field course and collection of the necessary field data. Her course provides an example of how elements from the two GETSI Field modules can be combined into a comprehensive remote field course. The course and activities as taught at University of Northern Colorado have been submitted to the NAGT Teaching with Online Field Experiences collection and are linked below.

Course: Geoscience Field Issues Using High-Resolution Topography to Understand Earth Surface Processes

Prepared Data Sets from Field Geodesy

The data sets below can be used to teach elements of the two field methods modules with collecting the data yourself.

Reasons why you might use these prepared resources:

  • You cannot go out in the field or cannot get access to the needed field equipment
  • You have a hardware failure in the field but still want to do a related exercise
  • You want examples from other locations or ideas for how similar exercises have been done elsewhere
  • You want students to have experience with other field applications that are not readily available in your area

High-resolution topography - Structure from Motion (SfM) and Lidar

High precision positioning - GPS/GNSS

Pre-existing GPS/GNSS Survey Sites

Software Tutorials for Processing Field Geodesy Data

Structure from Motion (SfM)

Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS)

Point Cloud Processing

  • Cloud Compare - Compare point clouds or triangular meshes generated from the two different techniques (TLS and SfM) (Windows and Mac)
    • CloudCompare basics, point cloud classification with CANUPO, point cloud differencing, and point cloud extraction tutorial - CloudCompare General Tutorial (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 14.8MB May11 21)
    • CloudCompare on macOS LAS file conversion guide - CloudCompare on macOS LAS conversion (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 215kB May11 21)
      • CloudCompare on macOS has known issues loading newer LAS file (version 1.4). This guide provides instruction on how to convert LAS files from version 1.4 to version 1.2 so they can be loaded in CloudCompare on macOS.
  • Split-FX- Engineering software extracts discontinuity data from point clouds (Windows)
  • DipAnalyst - Performs a kinematic analysis of rock slopes based on known discontinuities (Windows)