An Introduction to the Geowall

A good understanding of spatial relationships is a fundamental requirement in the study of the Earth Sciences. Traditional teaching methods have strongly relied on the 2D representations through maps and profiles that are occasionally augmented by physical models. Although most Earth Scientists have been trained to understand the 3D structure from such representations, the extrapolation requires spatial thinking skills that are difficult to learn and often form a stumbling block for students at the introductory level.

The GeoWall mission is to broaden the use of scientific visualization tools for Earth Science research and education by the use of low cost virtual reality visualization devices. The current GeoWall hardware is based on Agave technology developed at the Electronic Visualization Lab.

In these pages you will find a description of the organization of the GeoWall community and the use of the GeoWall in the Earth Sciences (and beyond). In addition you will find details on the hardware specification, software requirements, and many of the applications and data sets that are available for general use.

For more questions and information you are invited to contact any of main contacts for the GeoWall consortium.