182 Expanding Geology’s Horizons: Geoinformatics, Open Science, and Open Data (Posters)

This session highlights the development of new methodologies for collecting, sharing, and analyzing geological datasets and the advancement of FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data practices.

Tuesday, 21 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

petro-image: A Web-based Platform for Open and Accessible Digital Microscopy

Paper number: 182-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

Microscopy is a fundamental tool for teaching and research in the Earth sciences (e.g., thin section petrography, scanning electronic microscopy). Although the microscopic field of view is inherently limited, high-resolution images of entire specimens may be created by combining multiple individual photomicrographs into a seamless mosaic. Such digital images have many benefits, including the ability to view the entire specimen in a single view, share results with colleagues, and preserve a digital archive. Digital microscopy also provides opportunities for analysis that would be impossible or difficult with traditional microscopy. Unfortunately, there are significant barriers to widespread and open access to digital microscopy in the Earth science community, including challenges with 1) storing, sharing, and manipulating the very large file sizes typical of high-resolution images, 2) simultaneously working with multiple image files from the same specimen (e.g., paired plain and cross-polarized images of a thin section), and 3) downloading and installing the specialized software required for digital microscopy, some of which is proprietary in nature.

This presentation introduces petro-image, an open-source, web-based platform that is designed to make digital microscopy widely accessible to the Earth Science community. petro-image uses the open-source OpenSeadragon JavaScript library and the tiled Deep Zoom file format to enable rapid exploration of thin section photomicrographs and other microscopic images, with only a computer or smart device and internet connection required. To date, there are more than 180 specimens hosted on petro-image, with the majority being petrographic thin sections of sediment or sedimentary rock.

Although there are specialized microscopes designed for assembling digital images, this presentation will focus on images created using the PiAutoStage, a low-cost, 3D-printed automated stepping stage (Steiner and Rooney, 2021: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems). petro-image supports simultaneous display of up to four images, enabling easy visualization of different lighting configurations (e.g., plain-polarized, cross-polarized, and reflected light images). petro-image also includes basic functionality for common tasks, including measuring, annotating, gridding, and point counting, with potential to expand into more complex tasks such as image analysis. This presentation will include examples of how petro-image may be used for both teaching and research, with a focus on thin section petrography and zircon U-Pb geochronology.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412935

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