DeepEarth is an offspring of the popular software MINERAL VENTURE used in many universities around the world for graduates or undergraduates. DeepEarth is an excellent introduction to geology and well adapted to beginners: middle and high school pupils as well as undergraduates. It can be enjoyed as a game and students, through its use, discover that Earth Sciences can be quite an exciting field of experimentation. It is also a powerful learning tool for more advanced students, who can utilize ground geology and drillings to understand complex geological structures while carefully managing a predetermined amount of exploration resources.

DeepEarth is a computer simulation which allows users to interact with a geological environment. They can dispose of topographic or geologic maps and can perform drillings to discover the structure of the underground formations or the locations of some ore deposits. When this first phase of investigation is over, three more powerful tools become available, namely cross-sections, structural maps and block diagrams, to allow comparisons between what the students assume to be the hidden undergr ound and what is in fact the "real" thing.

Click this button to view a sample DeepEarth cross section.

DeepEarth can be used in different ways. The simplest way involves the teacher and students acting together as a unique team and the first phase of investigation is skipped. In this case, students play a relatively passive role and the game is mostly an interactive display of maps, cross-sections, and 3D pictures. A more sophisticated way engages students to act as geologists. In this case, they may be grouped into small and competitive teams which are interacting constantly with the software during several sessions. The teacher is then called the "leader" of the game and has the privilege of allotting the teams the means of action, for example, the maximum number and types of maps that a team may request as well as the number and the total length of drillings that a team may not exceed.

More than twelve geologic models are provided, going from a horizontal series model to a folded, faulted, and intruded series model. Moreover, the teacher can change at will and easily many parameters of a model, like its structural orientation, its dip, or add a secondary tectonics. The mean level of erosion, the average relief, or the soil thickness (which determines the number of observable geologic outcrops) can also be adjusted. In addition, it is possible to change the way streams have eroded the banks by selecting the type or the dimensions of the valley profiles. This flexibility of DeepEarth allows the educator to create an infinity of very different situations out of each of the twelve geologic models!

A special version of DeepEarth (DEM) permits the displaying of the USGS 1:24,000 Digital Elevation Models with the powerful capabilities of the software, including 3D stereoscopy on the screen. This version allows an unprecedented means of observation of real geologic and topographic structures.

What can you expect from introducing DeepEarth into your courses? Certainly a good understanding of topographic and geologic maps, a three dimensional perception of the "geologic space", a real insight into the interest of drillings and their right location, a firm awareness of the interaction between topography and underground geology and, even more important in today's world of multimedia, an enjoyable, interactive and realistic first encounter with Geology for the beginners...

The hardware requirement is a PC running under Windows and equipped with a Pentium or faster processor. The monitor must be able to display 256 colors or more. A resolution of 640x480 is fair but we recommend 1024x768. A printer is welcome, especially a color printer. In the case of a competitive workshop with several teams, the best disposition offers students a private access to a computer (PC or network).

DeepEarth is sold as a site license and can be used simultaneously on many computers. It can even be used at home by students. The only restriction is that the leader is unique because of the special privileges associated with this role. These privileges are granted thanks to a unique electronic protection key provided with the software. DeepEarth comes also with a set of special 3D glasses to observe in stereoscopy directly on the screen (DEM version only) and a booklet containing educational suggestions.

Be prepared to discover an astonishing new way to teach and learn Geology!

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