From photo-geology to 3D geological models. An open source approach
Three-dimensional modeling of geological bodies is a useful tool for multiple applications. Such tasks are usually accomplished starting from field-collected data, which typically suffer from intrinsic limitations such as accessibility constraints and punctuality of data collected. In this work, we explore the reliability of photo-geological analyses starting from aerial photo-interpretation in providing data useful to build up 3D geological models, and validate them using exploration wells data in a lignite rich area in Umbria, central Italy. The procedure that produces 3D models from photo-geological data is a three-step open source GIS procedure developed using python in GRASS GIS environment and GNU-Linux OS. We maintain that this procedure can have potential broad applications in Earth Sciences, including geological and structural analyses, up to the preliminary evaluation of potential reservoirs.