Virtual oceans: how VR technologies mediate oceanic space

Area of Science:

• Marine Science
• Geoscience Education
• Digital Earth

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) technologies are increasingly used in marine science for modeling underwater environments and facilitating virtual field trips.
• The rapid adoption of VR presents challenges in standardization and understanding its representational impact on marine science knowledge production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how VR technologies produce and transfer knowledge about marine environments.
• To explore VR as a tool mediating human-ocean relations through the analysis of VR model creation processes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of VR technologies and processes used in marine science for creating digital models of oceanic spaces.
• Examination of how these VR models shape the meaning and understanding of marine environments.

Main Results:

• VR technologies tend to flatten the complex materiality of oceans, creating a visually anchored illusion of depth.
• Current VR applications in marine science are shifting representations from global/planetary to local, place-based engagements.
• VR enhances local engagement through positionality and spatial awareness (proprioception), differing from sight-based representations.

Conclusions:

• VR in marine science offers new ways to engage with oceanic spaces, emphasizing local context and spatial awareness.
• The visual objectivity of VR can oversimplify ocean materiality, necessitating critical consideration of its representational effects.
• VR's shift towards place-based engagement signifies a change in how humans relate to and understand marine environments.