APPLYING DIGITAL MAPPING TECHNIQUES TO CLASSIC GEOLOGICAL AREAS IN NORTH WEST SCOTLAND AND THE FRENCH ALPS – AIDING STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY PREDICTION THROUGH 3D VISUALISATION AND MODEL BUILDING

The North West Highlands of Scotland have, for over a century, been noted as a classic area to map and understand structural geology. The area is used as a training resource for undergraduate students to learn basic geological mapping skills and to appreciate the geometry of structures in 3-dimensions; as well as for professional training. From this classic area in North West Scotland and an example from the French Alps we present case studies of digital geological mapping and model building to aid learning, as well as to assess the implications of digital model building techniques on geological model creation.

In North West Scotland a ruggedized lap-top was used to collect geological data in the field. The data was projected onto digital elevation models to show how formation boundaries and other structures intersect present day surface topography. Predictive techniques, such as the use of structure contours to constrain the location of unexposed boundaries, can be hard to visualise in 2-dimensions. As a training aid we constructed structure contours (in 3D space) to create a visual impression and hence appreciation of the calculations and predictions students and professionals make from 2D maps. In our second case study from the French Alps we have used digital field data collected for a folded limestone marker-bed as the key horizon from which a structural model has been built. By analysing the techniques used to construct the model from the field data the impact on geometry and hence the ‘structural style’ of the model can be evaluated, as well as an assessment of the impact on further, model-based, predictions.