Digital Field Mapping using Pocket PC Computers

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH

Investigators

Abstract

Geology (42) Digital technology has revolutionized all of science and engineering. Nowhere has the impact been greater than Geosciences where immense quantities of spatial data, common to the discipline, can now be collected, manipulated, and analyzed using a powerful GIS. Digital mapping has grown from a convenience to a necessity and it is imperative that students be exposed to this technology at an early stage in their education. We are integrating digital technology into a traditional Geology summer field camp curriculum by adapting an inexpensive Pocket PC computer, GPS receiver, and widely available software for use as a complete digital field mapping system. Our goal is to enhance the basic skills necessary for fieldwork with digital technologies to bring students to the forefront of the digital revolution. To accomplish this goal, we are adapting existing exercises (Onasch and Frizado, 1996; Brimhall, 2000) and developing new ones for our summer field course. This project builds on the successes of our pioneering effort in integrating technology in a field course funded by NSF six years ago. We believe the new curriculum is making fieldwork more efficient and accurate, extending what can be accomplished in the field, and reinforcing important concepts and methodologies. Our curriculum can be implemented by other schools through the use of digital products of the project including mapping exercises in GIS format, templates for various field exercises, references sources in eBook format, and a roadside geology GIS, all of which are available on CD-ROM or from our website.