Dataset Information

Historical photogrammetry: Bird's Paluxy River dinosaur chase sequence digitally reconstructed as it was prior to excavation 70 years ago.

ABSTRACT: It is inevitable that some important specimens will become lost or damaged over time, conservation is therefore of vital importance. The Paluxy River dinosaur tracksite is among the most famous in the world. In 1940, Roland T. Bird described and excavated a portion of the site containing associated theropod and sauropod trackways. This excavated trackway was split up and housed in different institutions, and during the process a portion was lost or destroyed. We applied photogrammetric techniques to photographs taken by Bird over 70 years ago, before the trackway was removed, to digitally reconstruct the site as it was prior to excavation. The 3D digital model offers the opportunity to corroborate maps drawn by R.T. Bird when the tracksite was first described. More broadly, this work demonstrates the exciting potential for digitally recreating palaeontological, geological, or archaeological specimens that have been lost to science, but for which photographic documentation exists.

SUBMITTER: Falkingham PL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3973721 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Historical photogrammetry: Bird's Paluxy River dinosaur chase sequence digitally reconstructed as it was prior to excavation 70 years ago.

Falkingham Peter L PL Bates Karl T KT Farlow James O JO

PloS one 20140402 4

It is inevitable that some important specimens will become lost or damaged over time, conservation is therefore of vital importance. The Paluxy River dinosaur tracksite is among the most famous in the world. In 1940, Roland T. Bird described and excavated a portion of the site containing associated theropod and sauropod trackways. This excavated trackway was split up and housed in different institutions, and during the process a portion was lost or destroyed. We applied photogrammetric technique ...[more]

PMID: 24695537

Similar Datasets

Project description:To develop an algorithm for computing realistic digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) that match real cone-beam CT (CBCT) projections with no artificial adjustments.The authors used measured attenuation data from cone-beam CT projection radiographs of different materials to obtain a function to convert CT number to linear attenuation coefficient (LAC). The effects of scatter, beam hardening, and veiling glare were first removed from the attenuation data. Using this conversion function the authors calculated the line integral of LAC through a CT along rays connecting the radiation source and detector pixels with a ray-tracing algorithm, producing raw DRRs. The effects of scatter, beam hardening, and veiling glare were then included in the DRRs through postprocessing.The authors compared actual CBCT projections to DRRs produced with all corrections (scatter, beam hardening, and veiling glare) and to uncorrected DRRs. Algorithm accuracy was assessed through visual comparison of projections and DRRs, pixel intensity comparisons, intensity histogram comparisons, and correlation plots of DRR-to-projection pixel intensities. In general, the fully corrected algorithm provided a small but nontrivial improvement in accuracy over the uncorrected algorithm. The authors also investigated both measurement- and computation-based methods for determining the beam hardening correction, and found the computation-based method to be superior, as it accounted for nonuniform bowtie filter thickness. The authors benchmarked the algorithm for speed and found that it produced DRRs in about 0.35 s for full detector and CT resolution at a ray step-size of 0.5 mm.The authors have demonstrated a DRR algorithm calculated from first principles that accounts for scatter, beam hardening, and veiling glare in order to produce accurate DRRs. The algorithm is computationally efficient, making it a good candidate for iterative CT reconstruction techniques that require a data fidelity term based on the matching of DRRs and projections.

Dataset Information

Historical photogrammetry: Bird's Paluxy River dinosaur chase sequence digitally reconstructed as it was prior to excavation 70 years ago.

Publications

Historical photogrammetry: Bird's Paluxy River dinosaur chase sequence digitally reconstructed as it was prior to excavation 70 years ago.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure