SketchUp as a Construction Tool for Large-Scale Subsurface Structures: Three-Dimensional Visualization of the Parry Sound Domain, Grenville Province, Ontario

Abstract

Three-dimensional visualization of subsurface geological boundaries can help researchers gain a better understanding of complex crustal structures in ancient orogenic belts such as the Grenville Province of Ontario, Canada. In this article, the geological structure of the Parry Sound Domain is visualized using SketchUp, with geological control from a regional gravity survey, Lithoprobe seismic transects line 30 and 31, and surface geological boundaries. The multilobed structure of the Parry Sound Domain is part of a tectonic outlier that lies on top of an orogenic thrust stack. Each of the three lobes exhibits a steeper-dipping west side to depth and a shallowly dipping east side to depth. Prior interpretations of the Parry Sound Domain's subsurface structure are modified on the grounds of a multi-disciplinary approach. Three-dimensional visualization of the Parry Sound Domain will improve the current understanding of the subsurface structure in the south-western Grenville Province.