Deep oceanic submarine fieldwork with undergraduate students, an exceptional immersive experience (Minerve software)

Abstract. We present the content and scripting of an active tectonic lab-session conceived for third year undergraduate students studying Earth Sciences at Observatoire des Sciences de l’Univers of Lyon. This session is based on a research project conducted on the submarine Roseau active fault in Lesser Antilles. The fault morphology is particularly interesting to map as this structure in the deep ocean is preserved from weathering. Thus high resolution models computed from Remotely Operated Vehicle videos (ROV) provide exceptional educational material to link fault morphology and coseismic displacement. This5class, composed of mapping exercises on GIS and virtual fieldwork, aims at providing basic understanding of active tectonics,and in particular active fault morphology. The work has been conducted either in a full remote configuration via 3D online models or in virtual reality (VR) in a dedicated room using the Minerve software. During the VR sessions, students were either alone in the virtual environment or participated as a full group, including the teacher (physically in the classroom or remotely, from another location), which is to our knowledge one of the first attempts of this kind in France. We discuss on the efficiency10of virtual fieldwork using VR based on feedback from teachers and students, and we conclude that VR is a promising tool to learn observational skills, subject to certain improvements which should be possible in the years to come.