Accounting for axial directions, cleavages and folding style during 3D structural modeling.

Cecile Massiot and Guillaume Caumon. ( 2010 )
in: Proc. 30th Gocad Meeting, Nancy

Abstract

3D modeling of highly deformed regions is challenging regarding structural consistency, especially when only sparse data are available. Implicit techniques offer easy and fast ways of integrating and editing orientation data, but often lead to over-simplified results in regions where several phases of folding deformation occurred. To address this problem, we propose new tools to interpolate field measurements of folded formations and associated features. A series of Discrete Smooth Interpolation (DSI) constraints has already shown its efficiency for the data interpolation in the implicit domain. In particular, the fold axis DSI constraint considers a global fold axis direction on the whole folded domain, yielding sub-cylindrical folds while strictly honouring available data. This constraint has been improved with the possibility of using a 3D vectorial field instead of a uniform axial direction. Additional information is contained in cleavages and lineations associated with folds. Indeed, when they are parallel to the axial surface, they help with the determination of large scale variations of the axial trace attitude, difficult to determine from localized field measurements. Also, when fan cleavages are orthogonal to stratigraphic horizons, their orientation can guide the interpolation away from the axial surface. All those features are integrated in a scalar field whose gradient is the axial direction, before being used as a new input for interpolating the stratigraphy. This constraint had been tested on the migmatitic dome of Naxos, Greece, where the geometry of subdomes was successfully defined. Finally, a new DSI constraint integrates a similar folding style to get anisopach folds.

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BibTeX Reference

@inproceedings{MassiotGM2010,
 abstract = { 3D modeling of highly deformed regions is challenging regarding structural consistency, especially when only sparse data are available. Implicit techniques offer easy and fast ways of integrating and editing orientation data, but often lead to over-simplified results in regions where several phases of folding deformation occurred. To address this problem, we propose new tools to interpolate field measurements of folded formations and associated features.
A series of Discrete Smooth Interpolation (DSI) constraints has already shown its efficiency for the data interpolation in the implicit domain. In particular, the fold axis DSI constraint considers a global fold axis direction on the whole folded domain, yielding sub-cylindrical folds while strictly honouring available data. This constraint has been improved with the possibility of using a 3D vectorial field instead of a uniform axial direction. Additional information is contained in cleavages and lineations associated with folds. Indeed, when they are parallel to the axial surface, they help with the determination of large scale variations of the axial trace attitude, difficult to determine from localized field measurements. Also, when fan cleavages are orthogonal to stratigraphic horizons, their orientation can guide the interpolation away from the axial surface.
All those features are integrated in a scalar field whose gradient is the axial direction, before being used as a new input for interpolating the stratigraphy. This constraint had been tested on the migmatitic dome of Naxos, Greece, where the geometry of subdomes was successfully defined. Finally, a new DSI constraint integrates a similar folding style to get anisopach folds. },
 author = { Massiot, Cecile AND Caumon, Guillaume },
 booktitle = { Proc. 30th Gocad Meeting, Nancy },
 title = { Accounting for axial directions, cleavages and folding style during 3D structural modeling. },
 year = { 2010 }
}