3D-geological structures with digital elevation models using GPU programming

• Visualisation of 3D geological structures with DEMs can be done in real-time with GPUs.
• Models of geological structures can be built using three-dimensional functions.
• 3D functions allow changes in models and help the interpretation of the geology in the real world.
• 3D functions allow the combination of structural domains and overlapping of folding phases.

We present an application that visualises three-dimensional geological structures with digital terrain models. The three-dimensional structures are displayed as their intersections with two-dimensional surfaces that may be defined analytically (e.g., sections) or with grid meshes in the case of irregular surfaces such as the digital terrain models. The process begins with classic techniques of terrain visualisation using hypsometric shading with textures. Then, geometric transformations that are easily conceived and programmed are added, thus representing the three-dimensional structures with their location and orientation. Functions of three variables are used to define the geological structures, and data from digital terrain models are used as one of the variables. This provides a simple source code and results in a short calculation time. Additionally, the process of generating new textures can be performed by a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), thereby making real-time processing very effective and providing the possibility of displaying the simulation of geological structures in motion.

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