“Immersion” Into Seismic Hazard: Virtual Reality Experience of the California Faults

Abstract:

In the last few years, Virtual Reality (VR) has become a significant tool for the visualization and analysis of scientific data. One scientific field that has the potential to benefit from the use of VR is Earth sciences and its sub-disciplines. For example, the physical mechanisms behind the generation of earthquakes are among the most difficult to represent and communicate to the general public because they are related to deeper tectonic processes. In addition, the complexity of the geological structures involved in such processes is very difficult to visualize and explore using flat screens. Here we are presenting a virtual reality experience based on the network of faults in California (UCERF3). Starting with a previous representation implemented in Paraview and visualized using the HTC VIVE Pro system, we initiated a process to enrich our VR experience with new layers of information. This new information includes the California counties’ administrative limits, major city centers, the California system of highways, hydrologic information, quaternary fault lines, and a digital elevation model of the state of California. We wrote a series of MATLAB scripts that allow us to translate the new information (usually shapefiles) into Paraview compatible file formats. Illustrated in Paraview, the converted files become additional layers that enhance the previous visualization. The last phase of our work includes the testing of the Paraview based experience using both the HTC VIVE Pro system and Oculus Rift S. Both the VR systems communicate with Paraview through the SteamVR libraries. From the preliminary outcome of the Oculus Rift S we see that the three-dimensional renderings of the material are displayed smoothly and are comparable to the previous version implemented with the HTC VIVE Pro. To make the project more accessible to the general public we are writing a manual composed of step-by-step procedures on how to operate the files on personal systems. The COVID-19 pandemic created significant disruption to our activities. Consequently, we reorganized our lab work to be online and adapted accordingly to our remote working conditions. The above work was supported by the Southern California Earthquake Center, SURE internship program. The project is based out of the CERI Visualization Lab at the University of Memphis.