The use of Gaming and Geodata Visualisation in Preparation for High Arctic Research Fieldwork

Fieldwork is essential in many scientific disciplines, providing critical data for validating simulations and ground truthing. However, fieldwork is often costly, logistically challenging, and may require travel to remote or hazardous locations, necessitating thorough preparation and safety measures. Training in fieldwork skills begins at the university level, but proficiency is gained through experience over time. The University Centre in Svalbard emphasises Arctic fieldwork, integrating classroom instruction with on-site training. To enhance student preparation, we developed games and visualisation tools to help anticipate and manage fieldwork challenges. This article showcases several video games and outlines a guide for creating a video game using various data sources — satellite and aerial imagery, point clouds from remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) — to explore Svalbard’s landscape. This versatile approach can be adapted to other regions or applications. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to create thematic games, and we demonstrate visualisation techniques for teaching, publications, and outreach, including Virtual Reality (VR). Additionally, we explain how handheld LiDAR can scan and incorporate small local areas into the games, and how Micro-CT data can be used to explore microscale environments, such as a virtual flight through a snowpack. All methods use open-source products, or products with a limited, but free licence.