Geological Modeling

Primary objective of geological characterization is concerned with

predicting the spatial variation of geological variables.
Variable Any property of the geological subsurface that exhibits spatial
variability and can be measured in terms of real numerical values.
Spatial Variation Typically the subsurface is anisotropic, spatially
complex and sedimentary bodies are internally heterogeneous.

Geology is a science rather than an engineering discipline because it

models the real world instead of building structures. Models evolve with
the collection of new data and the scientists improving understanding.

Geologists require tools that enable them to create and compare possible
models quickly and efficiently, engineers need tools with a greater
emphasis on precision because they form the basis for precise
construction. In mining, the traditional engineering design approach of
using sections, plans and elevations to define a structure in 3D is also
used to specify natural geological structures, despite geological
structures almost never being straight. The contrast is evident in Figure 1
01
A comparison of engineering and geological structures.

Explicit modeling

Explicit modelling is essentially akin to an engineering drawing process.

The modeller defines geological structures such as veins and faults by

explicitly drawing them on regularly spaced sections and joining them.

The data may constrain where they draw and tools may accelerate the

process but fundamentally it is a drawing process.

However, geology doesnt come in boxes, triangles, straight lines or

even sophisticated Bezier curves, these are simply ways of representing

the geology on a computer.

Implicit modelling

Implicit modelling is generated by computer algorithms directly from a

combination of measured data and user interpretation. The modelling
requires a geologists insight, but this is made in the form of trends,
stratigraphic sequences and other geologically meaningful terms. This
approach is faster, more flexible and fundamentally better suited to
modelling geology.
Models can also satisfy important geological constraints, e.g. lithological
units can fill the space under the ground with no gaps and spaces, cutting
through any section at any position will always be consistent with other
sections. Unlike explicit modelling where sections are created
independently and fitted together to try and create a 3D model. In figure
2 they appear similar, however the explicit section (left) is an input used
to create the model formed by manually joining contact points, whereas
the implicit section (right) is an output created by slicing through a 3D
model created directly from the data.
02

The explicit section in the first image is created by manually joining

contact points, whereas the implicit section in the second image is
created directly from the data.
When first created, implicit models were considered to be lacking detail
and were mainly used in early exploration. However, implicit modelling
algorithms have evolved rapidly and can now easily exceed the
complexity and level of detail in hand-drawn models. This process of
improvement continues.Modellers were much more familiar with
wireframes, sections and block models than the concept of mathematical
functions. For certain practical problems, these are entirely appropriate.
E.g. modern computer graphics hardware is optimised to display
wireframes, an axially-aligned section may succinctly explain the
geology and a block model may map very closely to an open pit mining
process.
03

A complex vein system