An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPS

Digital geological mapping has experienced significant growth over the past three decades due to the advent of commercial geographical information systems, advances in global positioning systems, and the availability of portable hand-held devices, such as mobile personal computers (PCs), smartphones...

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Main Authors: Julien Perret, Mark W. Jessell, Eliott Bétend
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Applied Computing and Geosciences
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590197424000442
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author Julien Perret
Mark W. Jessell
Eliott Bétend
author_facet Julien Perret
Mark W. Jessell
Eliott Bétend
author_sort Julien Perret
collection DOAJ
description Digital geological mapping has experienced significant growth over the past three decades due to the advent of commercial geographical information systems, advances in global positioning systems, and the availability of portable hand-held devices, such as mobile personal computers (PCs), smartphones, and tablets. Numerous software packages have been developed to collect, combine, organise, visualise, publish, and share field data with enhanced spatial accuracy and minimal post-field processing. However, many of these tools are not open-source or are not made available to the geoscientific community, remaining specific to given mapping projects or organisations.In this contribution we introduce GEOL-QMAPS, an open-source, QGIS-based solution promoting digital geological mapping in a harmonised, comprehensive and flexible way. It can be used in the field with a tablet PC or via the QGIS-based QField app on iOS or Android mobile devices, enabling synchronisation with desktop QGIS and the creation of field databases. Designed as a general solution, the GEOL-QMAPS solution consists of a QGIS field data entry template and a custom QGIS plugin, both available on free-access online repositories. The plugin allows for the adaptation of dictionaries (i.e., lists of attributes describing geological features), initially set to international nomenclatures, to the guidelines of different mapping projects. The solution also facilitates the loading and consultation of relevant legacy geodatasets (e.g., preexisting field data, geochemical, geophysical maps or punctual datasets). A fact map, created from field data collected across the Archean Sula-Kangari greenstone belt in Sierra Leone, demonstrates the solution's advantages in terms of post-field processing and raw field data sharing.
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spelling doaj-art-bf7839e03ccb461aa031b5df7519c5b02024-12-18T08:51:47ZengElsevierApplied Computing and Geosciences2590-19742024-12-0124100197An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPSJulien Perret0Mark W. Jessell1Eliott Bétend2Corresponding author.; Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, AustraliaCentre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, AustraliaCentre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, AustraliaDigital geological mapping has experienced significant growth over the past three decades due to the advent of commercial geographical information systems, advances in global positioning systems, and the availability of portable hand-held devices, such as mobile personal computers (PCs), smartphones, and tablets. Numerous software packages have been developed to collect, combine, organise, visualise, publish, and share field data with enhanced spatial accuracy and minimal post-field processing. However, many of these tools are not open-source or are not made available to the geoscientific community, remaining specific to given mapping projects or organisations.In this contribution we introduce GEOL-QMAPS, an open-source, QGIS-based solution promoting digital geological mapping in a harmonised, comprehensive and flexible way. It can be used in the field with a tablet PC or via the QGIS-based QField app on iOS or Android mobile devices, enabling synchronisation with desktop QGIS and the creation of field databases. Designed as a general solution, the GEOL-QMAPS solution consists of a QGIS field data entry template and a custom QGIS plugin, both available on free-access online repositories. The plugin allows for the adaptation of dictionaries (i.e., lists of attributes describing geological features), initially set to international nomenclatures, to the guidelines of different mapping projects. The solution also facilitates the loading and consultation of relevant legacy geodatasets (e.g., preexisting field data, geochemical, geophysical maps or punctual datasets). A fact map, created from field data collected across the Archean Sula-Kangari greenstone belt in Sierra Leone, demonstrates the solution's advantages in terms of post-field processing and raw field data sharing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590197424000442QGISDigital geological mappingField data harmonisation
spellingShingle Julien Perret
Mark W. Jessell
Eliott Bétend
An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPS
Applied Computing and Geosciences
QGIS
Digital geological mapping
Field data harmonisation
title An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPS
title_full An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPS
title_fullStr An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPS
title_full_unstemmed An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPS
title_short An open-source, QGIS-based solution for digital geological mapping: GEOL-QMAPS
title_sort open source qgis based solution for digital geological mapping geol qmaps
topic QGIS
Digital geological mapping
Field data harmonisation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590197424000442
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