Digital Palaeontology Support System

Data associated with each of the new fossil sites being studied as part of The Winton Dinosaur Project, along the fossils they contain, is being recording in a GIS-based Digital Palaeontology Support System (DPSS). This system is being designed by Dr John Hayes, from the School of Design and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology. 

The DPSS will be used to manage field processing procedures, digital data collection and taphonomic analysis. The system will incorporate and enhanced visualisation capability (EVC), allowing aerial, surface and sub-surface navigation of the new sites in a digital 3D immersive environment. The developement and inclusion of this capability is viewed as a fundamental and innovative means of analysing the taphonomic characteristics of vertebrate sites in the blacksoil plains of western Queensland. It is anticipated that the EVC will be applicable to the study of other palaeontological sites, both within Australia and overseas.