Improving Accessibility of in-situ Paleontological Geoheritage Via Digital Conservation: A Case-Study Using iPad-Based LiDAR in the Niagara Aspiring Geopark

A major barrier to effective field-based geoscience education is accessibility. Significant geoheritage sites are frequently located in remote and hard-to-access areas, resulting in substantial physical, financial, and skill/experience-based barriers to entry. Geosites with significant fossil content are frequently found in such hard-to-access areas, including deserts, high-altitude outcrops, and areas with restricted access (such as active quarries). Mirroring the difficulties associated with inaccessible field sites, sites that are easily accessible pose their own challenges related to conservation– namely, difficulties associated with preventing vandalism, overcollection of specimens, and unintentional damage. Here we explore the utility of tablet computer-based LiDAR (e.g., Apple iPad Pro LiDAR) as a cost-effective way to digitally conserve in-situ paleontological geoheritage, to simultaneously insure against information loss due to vandalism/illegal collection and improve accessibility for those who cannot physically visit a given geosite. We use the Middle Devonian fossil reef preserved at Wainfleet Wetlands as a case study. The site, which features an exceptionally well-preserved fossilized thicket reef, is freely accessible year-round, resulting in occasional instances of vandalism and unintentional damage. As Wainfleet Wetlands is intended to be a key geosite in the aspiring Niagara Geopark, increased visitation is expected to increase the risk of damage to the site. To mitigate this, we created 3D LiDAR models of many of the site’s most exceptional fossil specimens and incorporated them into a freely available “GeoHike”. The GeoHike serves as both a digital record of the exceptional fossils from the area and a means to increase the accessibility of these specimens.