Techniques for Virtual Palaeontology, Enhanced Edition

Book excerpt: Virtual palaeontology, the use of interactive three-dimensional digital models as a supplement or alternative to physical specimens for scientific study and communication, is rapidly becoming important to scientists and researchers in the field. Using non-invasive techniques, the method allows the capture of large quantities of useful data without damaging the fossils being studied Techniques for Virtual Palaeontology guides palaeontologists through the decisions involved in designing a virtual palaeontology workflow and gives a comprehensive overview, providing discussions of underlying theory, applications, historical development, details of practical methodologies, and case studies. Techniques covered include physical-optical tomography (serial sectioning), focused ion beam tomography, all forms of X-ray CT, neutron tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, optical tomography, laser scanning, and photogrammetry. Visualization techniques and data/file formats are also discussed in detail. Readership: All palaeontologists and students interested in three-dimensional visualization and analysis. New Analytical Methods in Earth and Environmental Science Because of the plethora of analytical techniques now available, and the acceleration of technological advance, many earth scientists find it difficult to know where to turn for reliable information on the latest tools at their disposal, and may lack the expertise to assess the relative strengths or limitations of a particular technique. This new series will address these difficulties by providing accessible introductions to important new techniques, lab and field protocols, suggestions for data handling and interpretation, and useful case studies. The series represents an invaluable and trusted source of information for researchers, advanced students and applied earth scientists wishing to familiarise themselves with emerging techniques in their field. This enhanced e-book offers the following features: Full colour and high quality graphics Full searchability Internal links to glossaries, cross-references, figures and tables and other pedagogy External links to websites, including DOI linking for references and further reading