The second International Geodiversity Day provided IFPEN with an opportunity to highlight the partnerships it has established to help protect the riches of the world's "non-living" heritage, and particularly the company's recent partnership with the University of Tasmania.
In May 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding for Digital technologies for geodiversity and geoheritage applications was signed with the University of Tasmania, a pioneer in the field of geodiversity research, notably thanks to the ground-breaking work of Chris Sharples in the 1990s. Today, the University of Tasmania is at the very forefront in the use of digital technologies for conserving and promoting geodiversity and geoheritage.
Within the framework of this new partnership, IFPEN gave the University of Tasmania access to its Virtuoso tool, which can integrate all observable and measurable geological information about outcrops of rock, and use the data to visualize, analyze and interpret digital models. This technology opens up new prospects for the interactive interpretation of digital models of geological outcrops.
On 6 October 2023, to mark International Geodiversity Day, a seminar was organized at the headquarters of UNESCO, with whom IFPEN also has a partnership agreement. Two researchers from the University of Tasmania presented their work:
- Mark Williams presented the use of virtual reality, drones and web portals with 3D resources as essential digital tools for assessing geodiversity, developing geotourism and supporting UNESCO's Global Geoparks.
- Dr. Melinda McHenry highlighted the crucial importance of geoconservation in post-mining landscapes in Australia, providing a valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities linked to protecting geodiversity in environments that have been altered by human activities.
This seminar enabled Carnot IFPEN Ressources Energétiques and its new partner to have in-depth discussions about the possible uses of Virtuoso for studying and promoting geoheritage.
