Video Description. User wearing the VR goggles of the HTC ViVe Pro system. Two diametrically opposed VR base stations are installed in the room to track and translate motion into the VR environment. The HTC ViVe is connected to an Alienware PC Desktop running the SteamVR software and Paraview with OpenVR plugin. This VR activity utilizes preliminary results from a dynamic rupture model of the Hayward-Calaveras fault system in the San Fransisco Bay Area, California. This activity highlights how rupture intensity (fault slip rate measured in m/s) is enhanced when rupture passes from a nearly vertical to a nearly horizontal and shallow fault segment. The photorealsitic VR environment facilitates the understanding of the relation between fault rupture, fault geometry and ground shaking. It also allows the user to get a better sense on how fault rupture propagates at depth and near the earth's surface.

Video Description. The simulation shows time steps of Fault Slip Rate (m/s) every 0.1 s for a total duration of 40 s. This activity is based on Kyriakopoulos et al., 2017 (J. Geoph. Res.). The video shows a VR implementation of a dynamic rupture model based on the 2010 Mw 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake. The VR activity utilizes two types of outputs from the dynamic rupture code: Fault Slip Rate (m/s) and Surface Particle Velocity (m/s). Fault slip rate represents how fast one side of the fault moves with respect to the other side. Surface particle velocity shows how fast points located at the Earth's surface vibrate by the passage of seismic waves. Among many things, two major processes related to earthquake rupture are particularly emphasized. First, the propagation of the rupture front along a continuous non-planar fault geometry. The fault geometry of the Cucapah model is characterized by several nearly vertical (~70-90 degrees) right step-overs and a dramatic change in fault dip (~60 degrees) near the southern portion of the model. Second, the pattern of surface particle velocity "reflects" the transition of the propagating rupture from a nearly vertical to a more shallow dipping fault segment.

Class description

The goal of the class was to provide a short introductory guide on how to use VR to represent geoscientific data with primary focus on earthquake related processes. The 14 students particpating in the 1-credit forum class were divided in 5 groups. For each group, state of the art VR systems (laptops + goggles) were made available to use and experiment during class discussions. This class represent a first attempt to implement VR in a class room at the University of Memphis. Athough the examples provided in class describe geologic processes, the tools used to generate such examples (e.g., MATLAB scripts, Paraview files etc) can be adapted to any STEM field as well as Arts in general. The goal of the class is to motivate, encourage and inspire students to look into modern visualization technologies as the mean to communicate and explain scientifc (or other) topics. The knowledge and experience obtained from this "inaugural" class will hopefuly serve as the base for the creation of a longer (3 credit) VR focused course.