The Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic Curnamona Province is largely overlain by sedimentary basins which contain any or combinations of Neoproterozoic, Cambrian, Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments. These cover sequence sediments can introduce considerable...
The Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic Curnamona Province is largely overlain by sedimentary basins which contain any or combinations of Neoproterozoic, Cambrian, Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments. These cover sequence sediments can introduce considerable complexities and costs to the exercise of conducting exploration for minerals held within the underlying bedrock. DMITRE's 3D model of cover overlying the Curnamona Province was created as a convenient way of visualising the spatial distribution and thickness of these basinal sediments. The model enables users to make estimations of vertical distances from the surface to key surfaces, including depth to top of Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic, base of Cambrian, base of Mesozoic and base of Cenozoic. The inferred forms of these key surfaces are derived from a combination of drillhole data, seismic data interpretation and aeromagnetic data modelling. The work began with identifying the statigraphic units that were to be modelled. Due to the regional scale of the project, the stratigraphic pile constructed for this model represents packages of units aggregated into single units. The input data were prepared utilising appropriate subsets of PIRSA's geoscientific database and spatial data library. These data sources included elevation, solid geology, surface geology, faults, field observations, and subsurface sectional interpretations based on geological interpretation of unconstrained geophysical inversions. 2D points were used to define the contact planes between units as parameters for interpolation into 3D objects. In addition to the topographic section (top-down view), the modeller created cross-sectional views of the input data, and added further observation and contact points. Forward modelling and inversion were not utilised on the Curnamona model, therefore the 3D model has not been tested against geophysical potential field data (gravity and magnetic intensity). The completed model displays 3D objects representing the major stratigraphic units within the cover to the Curnamona Province. The model has been exported to file formats suitable for viewing in Gocad or Adobe Reader.
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