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This paper presents a Virtual Archaeology application realized using ViSMan (Cineca), an open-source framework for visualization and interaction with scientific 3Dmodels connected to digital archives of data. The source for data was research project (survey and documentation, study and communication) carried out by the University of Bologna in the archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Through a collaboration with Cineca VisITLab - experienced in virtual environments design for research and education purposes - virtual models were used as 3D archive for management and visualization of this huge amount of relevant data, thus developing a spatially structured interface for data retrieval and contextualization. The implemented application - ViSMan-DHER - allows navigation through several reconstructed Scenarios; access is provided to a rich archive of data, related to the whole region territory as well as pertaining to a single wall-painting. Some remarks and hints for future development are listed in the conclusive section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of on-line computer games makes the medium a prime vehicle for communicating information and their scalability is especially conducive for facilitating global collaboration focused on developing a better understanding of the underpinnings and complexities of planetary systems beginning with climate change. Game engines generally provide an intuitive interface allowing focus to be shifted to the understanding of scientific elements rather than hiding them between a wealth of menus and other counterintuitive user interface components. Unconventional interaction and visualization techniques are introduced as a method to experience geophysical environments. Players are provided with dynamic visualization ˵assets,″ which enable them to discover, interrogate and correlate scientific data in a game space. The spirit of exploration is to give players the impetus to truly understand how complex Earth and planetary systems work and their intrinsic beauty, the impact of humans, and a sense of responsibility to serve as caretakers of those systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]