Virtual fieldtrips as a tool for indirect geomorphological experience: A case study from the southeast part of the Gulf of Corinth, Greece

Abstract:

Distance learning has never been more necessary than today, given the present conditions with the pandemic. Educators are called to find, use and evolve various tools to offer students quality education, aiming to eliminate the drawbacks due to the lack of physical contact and “live” fieldwork. This is especially the case for geoscience students, for which the field is intrinsic for understanding what they are taught in the class. Virtual fieldtrips are a more interactive and engaging approach than simply presenting static images and they can play an important role in the classroom or during on-line courses and, as such, they can also help to underpin ‘real’ fieldwork. In addition, virtual fieldtrips may provide solutions to challenges such as poor weather, accessibility issues, economic difficulties, mobility impairments.

In this framework, through a virtual fieldtrip on the geoarchaeology of the southern Corinth Gulf, our goal is the familiarization of geoscience undergraduate and graduate students with the geomorphological, tectonic, eustatic and geoarchaeological conditions of the area, as well as the collection and processing of field data.

The Gulf of Corinth is among the most tectonically active regions of Greece. Along its vast scientific significance apropos structural geology and stratigraphy, there are several areas with a vast interest regarding geomorphology, as well as geoarchaeology. Several regions were selected as hot spots for this virtual geomorphological field trip.

The visualization of the fieldtrip is accomplished through the web platform of Google Earth Pro, in which the students can virtually visit and study the landforms of the area, as well as their relationship to the ancient anthropogenic interventions. The platform is enriched with photographic and video material from past scientific excursions, while it is accompanied by a fieldtrip guide with geomorphological and geoarchaeological information for each visited site, as well as its evolution from antiquity to the present. The field trip consists of five main stops, which include the sites of Lechaion, Kenchreai, Diolkos, Lake Vouliagmeni and Heraion, where students are familiarized with faults, marine terraces, beachrocks, notches, bioerosional features, coastal erosion, and antiquities such as ancient harbors and shipways.