GEOLOGIC GIS DATABASE TO FACILITATE KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE VALLEY AND RIDGE PROVINCE, EAST TENNESSEE

Serial balanced 2D cross sections are often used to interpret the movement history of thrust sheets in fold-thrust belts. Curved orogens, such as the segment of the Appalachians between GA and VA (the Tennessee salient), present a problem to this traditional method of structural analysis, because the rocks may move in directions oblique to the trends of major structures. Only in 3D can more realistic displacement paths be accommodated, and geometry and kinematics be accurately analyzed. To facilitate regional structural analysis and development of a 3D model of the fold and thrust belt in East Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, we created a georeferenced 1:250,000 scale, vector version of the Valley and Ridge portion of the TN and GA state geologic maps. Using a combination of ArcView® , Imagine® , Adobe Illustrator® , and MapPublisher® , data in various coordinate systems/projections traditionally analyzed in 2D were integrated with the geologic map in a GIS database. Structural data, well logs, the TN database of oil and gas well information, and seismic reflection data can be easily combined with the surface geologic data and used, along with surfaces constraining the volume of the thrust sheets (topography and basement contours), to construct cross sections. All these data are now easily exported into software packages such as Landmark® and Geosec® for data interpretation and 3D model development. This combination of applications also facilitates production of high-quality paper maps from the database, while retaining attribute data. Our integrated model will help explain how a foreland fold-thrust belt can form on an irregular continental margin pushed by a uniform indentor.