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Laser Scan Planned for Mount Rushmore

'Cutting-Edge' Technology Will Create 3-D Map of Monument

By CATHERINE CULLEN

AOL News

posted: 8 HOURS 18 MINUTES AGO

comments: 76

filed under: National News

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(Aug. 1) -- People may be used to seeing work done on Hollywood faces, but some other famous faces undergoing a laser treatment may come as a surprise.

The National Park Service and digital preservation agency CyArk have teamed up to create a three-dimensional laser scan of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The scan will create an incredibly accurate digital rendering that will have both security and education benefits, they say.

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Digital preservation company CyArk, in cooperation with the National Park Service, will being creating a digital map of Mount Rushmore in September as part of a global initiative to preserve world heritage sites.

The partnership, announced in July, is part of CyArk's "500 Challenge," an initiative to preserve 500 world heritage sites over the next five years.

CyArk's challenge grew from company founder Ben Kacyra's dream of using new technology in anthropological and archaeological projects. "We're bringing the newest technology to fields that are typically very low-tech," CyArk Director of Programs Elizabeth Lee said in an interview with AOL News.

Lee said the CyArk project was conceived to create and preserve records of "internationally significant places" that faced human or environmental destruction.

"The mission has evolved," Lee said. "We started with the idea that these sites were endangered. But with places like Mount Rushmore, that is very well cared for by the Park Service, that's not really the case. ... This is just such fantastic stuff we wanted to make it available to people to see even while the monument is still standing."

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Watch Video: CyArk Maps the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings

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The "fantastic stuff" is the 3-D imaging created by CyArk. The digital maps will allow for as-built blueprints of the stony faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Navnit Singh, director of interpretation and education at Mount Rushmore, said the digital model will also cover the canyon and the Hall of Records behind the heads. "We can... take people virtually to the top of the mountain and see the Hall of Records, which is not open to the public," Singh told AOL News.

Singh said the monument, made of hard granite, is unlikely to sustain environmental damage that other historical sites might experience. But the monument's iconic status does attract danger of the human variety. He cited a July 8 Greenpeace protest in which activists hung a banner over Lincoln's face.

"If that incident had been more malicious, we don't have any digital or precise modeling of that mountain," Singh said. "This will create a detailed, exact record that will preserve it forever."

That was the idea behind a previous CyArk project in the United States. Lee said the company was commissioned to perform imaging on the Statue of Liberty soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In addition to CyArk and the Park Service, another important player is joining in from across the pond. Historic Scotland, a Scottish government agency, became involved with the project after CyArk's mission caught the attention of Minister of Culture Michael Russell in April. Russell committed his support for 10 preservation projects on the developing list for the 500 challenge. In exchange for five Scottish sites added to the program, the country pledged support for five sites abroad. Mount Rushmore was the first international site designated under the agreement.

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Watch Video: CyArk Laser Scan of Fort Scott at the Presidio

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Lee could not confirm other sites up for consideration by CyArk, but USA Today reported the company has identified Machu Picchu in Peru, New Orleans' French Quarter and the Acropolis in Athens as "at risk" sites.

The mapping project at Mount Rushmore is still in the planning stages, but Lee expects scans to begin in September. She said the company is dealing with the unique challenges of accessibility on a mountain. According to Singh, CyArk and the Park Service are working on technical aspects of the project: building rope work, constructing specialized booms and getting aircraft licenses for aerial surveys.

"It's a very fast-moving project," Singh said.

In addition to the preparations at the mountain, the CyArk team is hard at work on other projects. On Thursday, they debuted imaging of Easter Island's giant carved statues. All of the scans done by the company are available for public view on CyArk's Web site.

For now, the 3-D panoramas are showcased as short videos on an interactive global map on CyArk's site, but Lee said technology wil soon allow virtual tours and other public education features.

For Singh, the project could not come at a better time: The National Park Service is celebrating its centennial in 2016. "It's such a great opportunity for us," he said. "What better way to roll out the Park Service's next 100 years than showing Mount Rushmore at the cutting edge of technology?"

For more on the 500 Challenge and the Mount Rushmore project, visit CyArk's Web site.

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World Heritage Destinations

The Tower of Hercules, an ancient Roman lighthouse and the oldest lighthouse still in use, is located in Coruna, northwestern Spain. The tower was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List on June 27.

Miguel Riopa, AFP / Getty Images

2009-07-31 17:41:04

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lilliefaerie

05:36 PMAug 01 2009

I wish they could just leave it alone. I don't want anything new added to ths, and only things that need to be done should be done in the same fashion done by the original craftsman. Just becuase it can be done, does not mean that it should be or that it will make it better. This is sad. They probably just want to make sure that there isn't treasure buried there like the movie said.Find another mountain. Leave this one alone. National Park Service. Shame on you for even considering this.

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Sendintheclown00

05:32 PMAug 01 2009

HOW WEIRD! I HAVE BEEN SENDING THIS JOKE ALL OVER THE INTERNET FOR THE LAST 2 WEEKS! ROADS CLOSED THIS WEEKEND; FOR THOSE OF YOU, WHO MIGHT BE CONSIDERING A ROAD TRIP. BE ADVISED; PORTIONS OF I-64, I-70, I-29 AND I-90 WILL BE CLOSED THIS WEEKEND. EXPECT LONG DELAYS ALONG THESE INTERSTATE, HIGHWAYS PLUS MAJOR TRAFFIC DISRUPTIONS IN CHARLESTON, WV. LOUISVILLE KY, MO, KANSAS CITY, MO AND OMAHA, N.E. A 500 TON PIECE OF COAL IS BEING MOVED FROM WEST VIRGINIA TO SOUTH DAKOTA SO THAT BARACK H. OBAMA CAN BE ADDED TO MT. RUSHMORE...LOL! I THINK THE PEOPLE COMMENTING HERE ARE STILL ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL FOR OBAMA BECAUSE THEY DEFINITELY HAVE NOT BEEN FOLLOWINGS OBAMA'S PERFORMANCE THE LAST 7 MONTHS! HE RUSH A STIMULUS BILL THROUGH CONGRESS WITH-OUT GETTING THE REPUBLICANS SIGNING (NONE) BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT GIVEN THE CHANCE TO READ THE ENTIRE BILL. WHICH RESULTED IN A NON-GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF OUR TAX MONEY THAT WENT TO "AIG'S"INSURANCE WHO USED THE MONEY TO GIVE BONUSES TO THEIR TOP E...

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Sixeyess4dinner

05:24 PMAug 01 2009

CyArk's list of supporters and partners is definitely impressive. As the article implies with the mention of Scotland's support of the Mt. Rushmore project, partnerships are on a global scale...... http://archive.cyark.org/partners

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Sixeyess4dinner

05:16 PMAug 01 2009

Noseemee47, I'm quite aware of the Park Dept's involvement. The query was specific to a poster's consitent demonstration of never reading the full story and just using a title to lauch his/her prepubscent rhetoric. Thanks for the dull input though...........

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Bsfurg

05:13 PMAug 01 2009

wait until u see the monument he will plan to put in DC it will be bigger than any we have there now... but they better wait.. the way hes going he may not make to even 3 yrs...he tells a lot of lies yet...they are practicing on putting bush away for when its time for obama..

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Noseemee47

05:13 PMAug 01 2009

Sixeyess4dinner 05:05 PMAug 01 2009 Arth3Sm 04:58 PMAug 01 2009 sound like a waste of govt money....""@@@@@ Didn't read the article, huh?******guess you didn't either, one of the team doing this is the National Park service, paid for by government money....

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Sixeyess4dinner

05:05 PMAug 01 2009

Arth3Sm 04:58 PMAug 01 2009 sound like a waste of govt money....""@@@@@ Didn't read the article, huh?

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Cutniw

05:05 PMAug 01 2009

HELL, I ALREADY HEAR THAT A FIVE TON LUMP OF COAL IS HEADED THAT WAY.

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Arth3Sm

04:58 PMAug 01 2009

sound like a waste of govt money....maybe they will find an illegial or a niggger

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Barreraboy

04:57 PMAug 01 2009

>>>>OBAMA IS PLANNING ON PUTTING HIS FACE ON MT RUSHMORE UP WITH AMERICA'S REAL PATRIOTICS....DON'T PUT IT PAST HIM..HE IS NARCISTIC AND WANTS TO BE IMMORTAL...WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROCK MEDIUM FOR HIS EARS!!

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