ANAGLYPH STEREO IMAGING OF DINOSAUR TRACK MORPHOLOGY AND MICROTOPOGRAPHY

Fossil tracks should be recorded by methods that foster detailed ichnological analysis. Although outline drawings remain the standard currency of footprint illustra-tion, their simplicity entails a tremendous loss of information. By contrast, monocular photographs are highly detailed but often suffe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Palaeontologia Electronica, Stephen M. Gatesy, Neil H. Shubin, Farish A. Jenkins
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2004
Subjects:
KEY WORDS
anaglyph
track
footprint
dinosaur
Greenland
Triassic
Norian
Fleming Fjord
East Greenland
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.630.4014
http://www.palaeo-electronica.org/2005_1/gatesy10/gatesy10.pdf
Description
Summary:Fossil tracks should be recorded by methods that foster detailed ichnological analysis. Although outline drawings remain the standard currency of footprint illustra-tion, their simplicity entails a tremendous loss of information. By contrast, monocular photographs are highly detailed but often suffer from suboptimal lighting, which can cause misperceptions. Anaglyph stereo imaging offers a compact, scale-independent format for illustrating and presenting the complex three-dimensional (3-D) shape of dinosaur footprints. Using examples from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland, we address the benefits of anaglyphs to the exploration and exposi-tion of theropod tracks in both the field and laboratory. We find that the addition of ste-reopsis to other available depth cues (shading, cast shadows) maximizes the information content of a 2-D image while minimizing erroneous or ambiguous percep-tions of shape.

Similar Items