3D reconstruction of geological surfaces by the equivalent dip-domain method: An example from field data of the Cerro Bayo Anticline (Cordillera Oriental, NW Argentine Andes)

This paper presents a new method for the 3D reconstruction of geological structures: the equivalent dip domain method. It improves existing and currently used methods of structural reconstruction by taking advantage of the absolute position of dip data and by imposing geological constraints derived from the structural analysis of data. It deals with the definition of the simplest 3D geometry that honours most of the data; in the case presented here this geometry has been simplified to multiple cylindrical domains. The geometric framework derived from these cylindrical domains (fold axis and different planes) enables the interpolation and extrapolation of dip data along the structure to fill gaps of information. Thus, this method is useful to reconstruct the 3D geometry of structures in which available data are scarce and/or sparse.This method has been developed to reconstruct the 3D geometry of structures in remote areas where data acquisition is not always possible. It has been applied to the reconstruction of the Cerro Bayo Anticline, a thrust-related fold of the Cordillera Oriental in the north-western Argentine Andes. There, the analysis of aerial and satellite images and its combination with field data add further constraints in the definition of the geometrical framework.