Combining remote sensing surveys, digital and <i>in situ</i> field trips in higher education geology classroom

The OceanField project is an integrated field-work and classroom-based course offered to first year Master students in Marine Geosciences (at the European Institute for Marine Studies IUEM − University of Brest), creating a synergy between (1) geology field class, (2) photogrammetric data acquisition and (3) data processing to produce digital terrain models, enabling the immersive experience to be extended in a digital working environment once back in class. In this way, the students experiment different approaches for observing and analysing the structure, geometry and nature of a past oceanic domain in the Alps, and gain an understanding of how it works (from its birth to its disappearance). At the same time, participating in the acquisition and processing of photogrammetric data, students acquire new technical skills. By not only being immersed in the virtual environment, but also contributing to its creation, students are involved in the various stages of the data lifecycle. As a result, they become more aware of multiscale data quality and of the opportunities offered by virtual environment accuracy.