3D semantic mapping of surface geological features

Computers & Geosciences
By: , and 

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Abstract

Semantic mapping in 3D is fundamental to a wide range of geoscientific studies and applications, including geomorphology, hazard assessment, and environmental monitoring. However, automatically segmenting geological features from large-scale photogrammetric datasets remains a significant challenge. We present a methodology to address this gap. Using overlapping images collected over environments of interest, Structure-from-Motion (SfM) produces georeferenced point clouds and estimates camera poses. Existing large vision models, such as Segment Anything Model, segment objects in the images, generating pixel-segmentation associations. To produce pixel-point associations, we project the points back onto the camera image planes. As objects are independently segmented across multiple images with different perspectives, we develop a segmentation mosaicking algorithm to build probabilistic point-segmentation associations that combines the pixel-segmentation associations and pixel-point associations. Our methodology is validated using both synthetic data generated by Kubric and real-world UAV-SfM data. The implementation is designed to be compatible with existing SfM software, including Agisoft and OpenDroneMap, for photogrammetry mapping in geoscience studies. As a case study, we apply our method to the semantic mapping of precariously balanced rocks (PBRs), which provide upper-bound constraints on historical ground motion shaking intensity. To support object-level identification of PBRs, we additionally integrated Grounding DINO, enabling text-prompted segmentation of features of interest within UAV imagery. This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of our method in generating a 3D semantic map of PBRs, enabling spatial distribution of PBR fragility for earthquake hazard analysis.

Suggested Citation

Chen, Z., McPhillips, D., Scharer, K., and Ross, Z., 2026, 3D semantic mapping of surface geological features: Computers & Geosciences, v. 213, 106181, 12 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2026.106181.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title 3D semantic mapping of surface geological features
Series title Computers & Geosciences
DOI 10.1016/j.cageo.2026.106181
Volume 213
Publication Date April 25, 2026
Year Published 2026
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Earthquake Science Center
Description 106181, 12 p.
Additional publication details