Savannah: Geology is one of the branches of science that really requires getting out into the field, but virtual reality might help bring remote field sites closer to home. Not only is field research expensive, it can be pretty intense physically. That limits the number of people who can get out there, meaning future geologists have a hard time getting the hands-on experience they need.

But a team at the University of Washington developed a VR program that takes students to the Whaleback anticline in Pennsylvania from the comfort of home. Whaleback is a 10 meter high folded sandstone bed, one of the best exposures of folded rocks in the United States. And with VR, users can walk across the terrain in first person, measuring the fold's layers and collecting real world data in virtual reality. That brings the field closer to researchers with access needs and saves scientists multiple trips to the same site, saving time and money.

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