Abstract
Abstract. This paper proposes a new method for visualizing the earth fissures of geological structure in three dimensional (3-D) domains on the basis of the seismic data and features information of earth fissures. The seismic data were interpreted for obtaining the stratagraphic data with various lithological information and the depth of the earth fissures. The spatial distribution of the ground fissures including the dip, strike and width were digitalized on an ArcGIS platform. Firstly, the 3-D geological structure was rebuilt using the Generalized Tri-Prism (GTP) method which is a real solid method for displaying geological structures. The GTP method can reflect the inner material of the strata and can simulate complicated geological structures such as faults and stratagraphic pinch outs. The upper and lower surfaces of each stratum consist of Triangle Irregular Networks (TIN). The inner solid between the two surfaces are a series of triangular prisms. Secondly, since the width of the ground fissure gradually decreases with depth, multiple edge lines of the earth fissures on the bottom stratum surface are deduced on the basis of the fissure characteristics. Then, the model of the earth fissures consisting of a series of triangular pyramids can be constructed using these points and the edge lines. A cutting operation was carried out on the 3-D geological structure using this ground fissures model. If the surfaces of the ground fissures model intersects with the GTPs in the geological structure model, new GTPs were generated within the local regions. During this process, the topological relations between TIN, triangular prism and lines were reconstructed so that the visualization of ground fissures in the geological structure model is realized. This method can facilitate the mechanism for studying fissures and avoid the gaps between the fissure solid and the geological structure to accurately reflect their 3-D characteristics.
Highlights
Earth fissures are induced by natural or man-made factors such as volcano, ice, water, and exploration of the subsurface resources
Especially in many alluvial basins, earth fissures are mainly caused by tensional forces related to differential land subsidence, which is mainly related to long-term groundwater pumping in excess of aquifer recharge such as in Arizona and Utah
OpenGL is composed of hundreds of commands and functions for creating real-time 3-D graphics, which can be used to generate 3-D object with high fidelity, and can realize the interactive operations with the simulated objections
Summary
Earth fissures are induced by natural or man-made factors such as volcano, ice, water, and exploration of the subsurface resources (water, oil and gas). There are two methods including the surface and solid methods for displaying the geological structure. Surface methods such as multiple DEM (digital elevation model) are popular and easier to be realized, while, the model from this method can not reflect the inner materials or attributs in geologic structures. OpenGL is composed of hundreds of commands and functions for creating real-time 3-D graphics, which can be used to generate 3-D object with high fidelity, and can realize the interactive operations with the simulated objections. Visual C + + was used as a developed platform and OpenGL was employed to create real-time 3-D graphics for the visualization of a geologic model with earth fissures
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