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3-D modeling of geologic maps from surface data

¹ Formation de Recherche en Evolution 2639–Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: Imagerie Géophysique, CURS-IPRA, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, Avenue de l'Université, Pau Cedex, France; damien.dhont{at}univ-pau.fr
² Dynamic Graphics Inc., 1015 Atlantic Avenue, Alameda, California, 94501-1154
³ Unité Mixte de Recherche 7072–Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: Laboratoire de Tectonique, case 129, Université Paris 6, 4 place Jussieu 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France

Damien Dhont is an assistant professor of structural geology and remote sensing at the University of Pau. He received his Ph.D. in 1999 from Paris 6 University. His research interests include the structure of thrust and fold belts, the extensional collapse of orogens, and the study of the relationships between tectonics and volcanism. His main studied areas correspond to recent orogenic belts and plateaus of the Middle East and South America.Pascal Luxey received his Ph.D. in 1995 from Paris 6 University (France). He was then granted funds to study at the Southampton Oceanography Center (United Kingdom) the interactions between the Icelandic hot spot and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 1995 and 1998. For the last 7 years, he has been a geological application specialist for Dynamic Graphics Inc.

Jean Chorowicz is a professor of tectonics, remote sensing sciences, and their applications at Paris 6 University. Formerly a field geologist in Yugoslavia, he has concentrated on the development of remote sensing in geology since 1972. He keeps a constant research activity on orogenic belts, especially in the peri-Mediterranean region. He has studied rifts and basins, transform faults, and relationships between tectonics and volcanism.

Recent discoveries in earth sciences are mostly related to technologies allowing graphical representations of volumes. We present a way to produce mathematically and geometrically correct three-dimensional (3-D) geologic maps consisting of the volume and shape of all geologic features of a given area. The method is innovative in that it only uses surface information based on the combination of a standard geologic map, a satellite image, and a digital elevation model. It is based on a modeling algorithm that only uses surfaces calculated from scattered data points and that intersects them following a series of geologically sound rules. The major advantage of using such technology is that it provides the user with a way to quantify geology. To illustrate how a 3-D geologic map can be computed, we explain the steps taken to build a dummy model with simple faulting and depositional sequencing. The case study chosen to illustrate the method is the Beirut watershed (Lebanon), an area with relatively simple geology. The 3-D visualization and cross sections help in the understanding of the geometrical relationship between the different geologic features, allowing a reexamination of the tectonic history of the area during the late Mesozoic.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. Guillaume, D. Dhont, and S. Brusset Three-dimensional geologic imaging and tectonic control on stratigraphic architecture: Upper Cretaceous of the Tremp Basin (south-central Pyrenees, Spain) AAPG Bulletin, February 1, 2008; 92(2): 249 - 269. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]