Interdisciplinary data-constrained 3-D potential field modelling with IGMAS+

ANIKIEV, DENIS; GÓMEZ DACAL M. L.; HANS-JÜRGEN GÖTZE; BOTT, JUDITH; ÁNGELA MARIA GOMEZ GARCIA; GÓMEZ DACAL, MARÍA LAURA; CHRISTIAN MEEßEN; CAMERON SPOONER; CONSTANZA RODRIGUEZ PICEDA; CHRISTIAN PLONKA; SABINE SCHMIDT; MAGDALENA SCHECK-WENDEROTH

Congreso; EGU General Assembly 2021; 2021

European Geosciences Union

We introduce a modelling concept for the construction of 3-D data-constrained subsurfacestructural density models at different spatial scales: from large-scale models (thousands of squarekm) to regional (hundreds of square km) and small-scale (tens of square km) models used inapplied geophysics. These models are important for understanding the drivers of geohazards, forefficient and sustainable extraction of resources from sedimentary basins such as groundwater,hydrocarbons or deep geothermal energy, as well as for investigation of capabilities of long-termunderground storage of gas and radioactive materials.The modelling concept involves interactive fitting of potential fields (gravity and magnetics) andtheir derivatives within IGMAS+ (Interactive Gravity and Magnetic Application System), a wellknownsoftware tool with almost 40 years of development behind it. The core of IGMAS+ is theanalytical solution of the volume integral for gravity and magnetic effects of homogeneous bodies,bounded by polyhedrons of triangulated model interfaces. The backbone model is constrained byinterdisciplinary data, e.g. geological maps, seismic reflection and refraction profiles, structuralsignatures obtained from seismic receiver functions, local surveys etc. The software supportsspherical geometries to resolve the first-order effects related to the curvature of the Earth, whichis especially important for large-scale models.Currently being developed and maintained at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam ? GFZ GermanResearch Centre, IGMAS+ has a cross-platform implementation with parallelization ofcomputations and optimized storage. The powerful graphical interface makes the interactivemodelling and geometry modification process user-friendly and robust. Historically IGMAS+ is freefor research and education purposes and has a long-term plan to remain so.IGMAS+ has been used in various tectonic settings and we demonstrate its flexibility and usabilityon several lithospheric-scale case studies in South America and Europe.Both science and industry are close to the goal of treating all available geoscientific data and geophysical methods inside a single subsurface model that aims to integrate most of theinterdisciplinary measurement-based constraints and essential structural trends coming fromgeology. This approach presents challenges for both its implementation within the modellingsoftware and the usability and plausibility of generated results, requiring a modelling concept thatintegrates the data methods in a feasible way together with recent advances in data sciencemethods. As such, we present the future outlook of our modelling concept in regards to thesechallenges.