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VIRTUAL PALEONTOLOGY—AN OVERVIEW

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2017

Mark Sutton ,
Imran Rahman  and
Russell Garwood
Mark Sutton
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BP, UK 〈m.sutton@imperial.ac.uk〉
Imran Rahman
Affiliation:
Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK 〈imran.rahman@oum.ox.ac.uk〉
Russell Garwood
Affiliation:
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK 〈russell.garwood@manchester.ac.uk〉
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Abstract

Virtual paleontology is the study of fossils through three-dimensional digital visualizations; it represents a powerful and well-established set of tools for the analysis and dissemination of fossil data. Techniques are divisible into tomographic (i.e., slice-based) and surface-based types. Tomography has a long predigital history, but the recent explosion of virtual paleontology has resulted primarily from developments in X-ray computed tomography (CT), and of surface-based technologies (e.g., laser scanning). Destructive tomographic methods include forms of physical-optical tomography (e.g., serial grinding); these are powerful but problematic techniques. Focused Ion Beam (FIB) tomography is a modern alternative for microfossils; it is also destructive but is capable of extremely high resolutions. Nondestructive tomographic methods include the many forms of CT, which are the most widely used data-capture techniques at present, but are not universally applicable. Where CT is inappropriate, other nondestructive technologies (e.g., neutron tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, optical tomography) can prove suitable. Surface-based methods provide portable and convenient data capture for surface topography and texture, and might be appropriate when internal morphology is not of interest; technologies include laser scanning, photogrammetry, and mechanical digitization. Reconstruction methods that produce visualizations from raw data are many and various; selection of an appropriate workflow will depend on many factors, but is an important consideration that should be addressed prior to any study. The vast majority of three-dimensional fossils can now be studied using some form of virtual paleontology, and barriers to broader adaptation are being eroded. Technical issues regarding data sharing remain problematic. Technological developments continue; those promising tomographic recovery of compositional data are of particular relevance to paleontology.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Paleontological Society Papers , Volume 22: Virtual Paleontology , September 2016 , pp. 1 - 20
Copyright
Copyright © 2017, The Paleontological Society 

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