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

Day 1 - Getting started with Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
(Adapted from Unit 1-SfM: Introduction to SfM in GETSI module Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM)
Day 2 - Introduction to GPS/GNSS
- Unit 1: GPS/GNSS Fundamentals - from the GETSI module High Precision Positioning with Static and Kinematic GPS/GNSS.
  - GPS/GNSS presentation (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 48.6MB Sep5 20)
  - Unit 1 Accuracy & Precision exercise
- Post-processing GPS/GNSS Base Station Position
Day 3 - SfM of Poudre River at Sheep Draw Reach
- Ground Control Points for Structure from Motion Activity
- Structure from Motion for Analysis of River Characteristics Activity
Day 4 - Working with Point Clouds in CloudCompare and Classifying with CANUPO
Day 5 - Report 1 - SfM Feasibility Report assignment (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 46kB Oct29 20)
Day 6 - Optional Field Day (collected additional dataset with local students who could participate) - no associated assignment
Day 7 - Intro Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) [coming soon]
Day 8 - Geomorphic Change Detection [coming soon]
Day 9 - Airborne LiDAR and additional data sources [coming soon]
Day 10 - Report 2 - Methods Comparison Report.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 46kB Oct29 20)
Day 11 - Presentations - students gave short presentations to the group based on their final report

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

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A 3D model of an outcrop in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado. This model was created by processing a photoset of the outcrop in Agisoft Metashape.
Provenance: Image made by GETSI Project with data from Yonathan Admassu (James Madison University)
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

El-Mayor Cucapah Earthquake Fault Scarp, Baja, California
- El Mayor Cucapah fault scarp - simple photo set (SfM) (Zip Archive 66.6MB Nov14 16) - Photoset (SfM)
- Corresponding Unit: Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 1
Milligan Canyon, Three Forks, Montana
- Milligan Canyon sequence stratigraphy data (SfM) (Zip Archive 1433.2MB Nov2 16) - Outcrop for stratigraphic analysis (SfM)
- Milligan Canyon sequence stratigraphy completed Agisoft project (SfM) -- private instructor-only file
  - Outcrop for stratigraphic analysis (SfM)
- Corresponding Unit: Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 2
Dixon Canyon, Fort Collins, Colorado
- Dixon Canyon sequence stratigraphy data (SfM) (Zip Archive 221.5MB Oct16 20) - Outcrop for stratigraphic analysis (SfM)
- Corresponding Unit: Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 2
Eldorado Canyon, Colorado
- Eldorado Canyon outcrop for road cut - SfM photos and metadata (Zip Archive 84.2MB Oct20 20) - Photoset (SfM)
- Eldorado Canyon discontinuity data from SplitFX -- private instructor-only file
  - Point cloud from SfM
- Eldorado Canyon outcrop point cloud from SfM -- private instructor-only file
  - Discontinuity patches from point cloud
- Corresponding Unit: Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 2.1
Landers Fault Scarp, Landers, California
- Landers fault scarp data (SfM) (Zip Archive 1238.3MB Oct20 16) - Photoset (SfM)
- Corresponding Unit: Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 3
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
- Aeolian dunes change detection (airborne lidar) (Zip Archive 18.1MB Oct20 16) - Airborne Lidar Point Clouds (2009 & 2010)
- Corresponding Unit: Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 4
Muskegon Beach, Michigan
- Anthropogenic and geomorphic change detection at a beach (airborne & TLS) (Zip Archive 19.9MB Nov1 20) - Airborne Lidar Point Cloud (2008) and TLS point cloud (2015)
- Corresponding Unit: Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 4
Cache la Poudre River at Sheep Draw Open Space, Greeley, Colorado
- - Photoset (SfM)
- - Terrestrial Lidar Point Clouds (2020)
- Corresponding Unit: Geoscience Field Issues Using High-Resolution Topography to Understand Earth Surface Processes

High precision positioning - GPS/GNSS

Accuracy, precision, and Error Exercise
Salmon Falls Creek, Buhl, Idaho - Actively creeping landslide
- Creating Topographic Surfaces: Salmon Falls Map and Data (Zip Archive 57MB Oct16 20) - Lidar scans (2002 & 2010) and GPS locations compiled in ArcMap document
- Corresponding Unit: High Precision Positioning with Static and Kinematic GPS: Unit 2.2
Mt. Borah, Lost River Fault, Chilly, Idaho - Active fault
- Mt. Borah, Lost River Fault: Leveling line data set (Zip Archive 8.7MB Oct16 20) - Leveling line data sets (1933, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2017)
- Corresponding Unit: High Precision Positioning with Static and Kinematic GPS: Unit 2.2

Pre-existing GPS/GNSS Survey Sites

Salmon Falls Creek, Buhl, Idaho - Actively creeping landslide
- Creating Topographic Surfaces: Salmon Falls Map and Data (Zip Archive 57MB Oct16 20) - Lidar scans (2002 & 2010) and GPS locations compiled in ArcMap document
Mt. Borah, Lost River Fault, Chilly, Idaho - Active fault
- Mt. Borah, Lost River Fault: Leveling line data set (Zip Archive 8.7MB Oct16 20) - Leveling line data sets (1933, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2017)

Software Tutorials for Processing Field Geodesy Data

Structure from Motion (SfM)

Agisoft Metashape - Creates point clouds from sets of overlapping photographs (Windows and Mac)
- Quick start guide (Note: This was written specifically for getting students started on Analyzing High-Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM: Unit 2.1; can be modified for other applications) - Unit 2.1 Agisoft MetaShape Pro Quick Guide (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 6.2MB Nov15 19)
- Data exploration and processing manual - SfM Data Processing and Exploration Manual (Agisoft Metashape software) (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 14.4MB Nov16 19)
- Agisoft MetaShape tutorial video - SfM - Agisoft tutorial (MP4 Video 21.8MB Mar8 17)

Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS)

RiSCAN PRO - Processing TLS scans from RIEGL laser scanners (Windows)
- Data exploration and processing manual - TLS Data Processing and Exploration Manual (RiScan Pro software) (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 5.1MB Sep22 16)
SCENE - Processing LiDAR scans from FARO-brand laser scanners into 3D point clouds (Windows)
- SCENE tutorial video - TLS - SCENE software tutorial (MP4 Video 24.1MB Mar8 17)

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, and point cloud differencing tutorial - CloudCompare-General Tutorial (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 7.4MB Apr5 21)
Split-FX- Engineering software extracts discontinuity data from point clouds (Windows)
- Quick start guide - Unit 2.1 SplitFX Quick Guide (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 1.9MB Nov16 19)
- SplitFX tutorial video - Engineering analysis - SplitFX software tutorial (MP4 Video 44.7MB May10 17)
DipAnalyst - Performs a kinematic analysis of rock slopes based on known discontinuities (Windows)
- Quick start guide - Unit 2.1 DipAnalyst Quick Guide (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 921kB Nov16 19)
- Detailed manual - DipAnalyst User Guide (Acrobat (PDF) 951kB May10 17)