Surface-Based 3D Modeling of Geological Structures

Building a 3D geological model from field and subsurface data is a typical task in geological studies involving natural resource evaluation and hazard assessment. However, there is quite often a gap between research papers presenting case studies or specific innovations in 3D modeling and the objectives of a typical class in 3D structural modeling, as more and more is implemented at universities. In this paper, we present general procedures and guidelines to effectively build a structural model made of faults and horizons from typical sparse data. Then we describe a typical 3D structural modeling workflow based on triangulated surfaces. Our goal is not to replace software user guides, but to provide key concepts, principles, and procedures to be applied during geomodeling tasks, with a specific focus on quality control. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11004-009-9244-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. G. Caumon ( ) · P. Collon-Drouaillet CRPG, Nancy Université, CNRS, ENSG, rue du doyen Marcel Roubault, BP 40, 54501 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France e-mail: [email protected] P. Collon-Drouaillet e-mail: [email protected] C. Le Carlier de Veslud Géosciences Rennes, Université Rennes 1, bat. 15—campus de Beaulieu, 263 Av. du général Leclerc, BP 74205, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France S. Viseur Laboratoire de Géologie des Systèmes et Réservoirs Carbonatés (EA 4234), Université de Provence, Case 67, 3 place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille cedex 03, France J. Sausse G2R, Nancy Université, CNRS, CREGU, BP 70239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France 928 Math Geosci (2009) 41: 927–945