THE MECHANICS OF A 3D GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

The transition for geological survey organisations from mapping geology in two to three dimensions, requires a fundamental reconsideration of mapping methodologies, data management and dissemination. In times of reduced resourcing, geological surveys need to be more open to keep pace with the continuously evolving understanding of the subsurface, which is driven by the acquisition of new data and new scientific insight. As a national survey it needs to be able to create and maintain authoritative models nationally and convey uncertainty, particularly where data is sparse, clustered or of varying quality, and it needs to be sufficiently flexible to allow the generation of outputs at a wide range of resolutions.

To resolve these challenges, the British Geological Survey is developing infrastructure that allows geologists to make interpretations (via cross sections and maps) that are used to generate 3D geological models. These interpretations are stored centrally and can be edited progressively as more data becomes available. Because of the need for continuous updates, 3D models are not stored, but are generated on demand from the interpretations as required. The BGS envisages that the task of updating the models will be significant, for this reason, it is envisaged that the geoscience community will work with our models to generate interpretations, which will then feed into our database, continuously improving geological understanding. Checking and approval is likely to become a key task for the geological survey to ensure that the traditional standards of mapping are upheld.