A Practical Guide to Virtual Outcrop Photogrammetry in Earth Science

In 2021, a photogrammetric model of a 7 km coastal cliff section of the Tjörnes Peninsula, NE Iceland was constructed to provide a “virtual geological outcrop” at a spatial resolution of approximately 5 cm or less. Field expedition planning and post-expedition processing were somewhat hampered by a lack of freely accessible guiding resources. This document presents a first-hand case study of the complete project workflow, including expedition planning, field data acquisition, and data processing within Agisoft Metashape software to create an interactive “Structure from Motion” photogrammetric model for uploading to the V3Geo cloud-based platform. Drone-based photogrammetry is a burgeoning tool, and this account is intended to allow safer, more effective and more efficient use of the technology in creating virtual outcrops for use in Earth science teaching and research.