3D Landslide Models in VR

The present paper describes the elaboration of 3D surface and geological models
generated for a series of landslide sites, zones marked by large incipient slope failures,
or those presenting structural characteristics of an ancient giant mass movement. For
both, surface and geological models, high-resolution satellite or drone imagery was
draped on the digital elevation model constructed from the same imagery or using
Radar or LiDAR data. The geological models further include geophysical data,
supported by differential GPS measurements, complemented by georeferenced
geological and tectonic maps and related geological sections. The soft layer thickness
information and borehole data are typically represented in terms of logs inside the
model. For several sites also slope stability analyses were performed, either in 2D or in
3D. Inputs for those analyses were directly extracted from the 3D geomodels, outputs
were again represented in the models.
Some of those models, such as the one produced for the right-bank slopes of the
Rogun Dam construction site can be quite complex and we clearly could notice that an
immersive analysis using VR technology helps understand their internal structure and
perform a better slope stability analysis. Still these analyses have their limits, as a
study in Virtual Reality is purely individual (at present time, the visiting researcher is
separated from the rest of the World). Therefore, we suggest that a real advancement
can only be achieved if the technological developments go along with a stronger
collaboration between scientists from the various geo-domains, who could also be
immersed in the same virtual model (~collaborative VR).