3-D Structural geological models: Concepts, methods, and uncertainties

The Earth below ground is the subject of interest for many geophysical as well as geological investigations. Even though most practitioners would agree that all available information should be used in such an investigation, it is common practice that only a part of geological and geophysical information is actually integrated in structural geological models. We believe that some reasons for this omission are (a) an incomplete picture of available geological modeling methods, and (b) the problem of the perceived static picture of an inflexible geological representation in an image or geological model. With this work, we aim to contribute to the problem of subsurface interface detection through (a) the review of state-of-the-art geological modeling methods that allow the consideration of multiple aspects of geological realism in the form of observations, information, and knowledge, cast in geometric representations of subsurface structures, and (b) concepts and methods to analyze, quantify, and communicate related uncertainties in these models. We introduce a formulation for geological model representation and interpolation and uncertainty analysis methods with the aim to clarify similarities and differences in the diverse set of approaches that developed in recent years. We hope that this chapter provides an entry point to recent developments in geological modeling methods, helps researchers in the field to better consider uncertainties, and supports the integration of geological observations and knowledge in geophysical interpretation, modeling and inverse approaches.