Using a Microcomputer for Interactive Section Construction and Balancing

Peter Geiser, Roy Kligfield, James Geiser

A program that constructs geologic cross sections has been linked to a set of routines that permit the user to balance the section interactively as it is constructed. This ability raises important issues for the process of section construction. The present procedure constructs the section first and balances it after the entire section is complete. Although interactive construction and balancing can be done by hand, the task is slow, so it is not a common practice. Drastically cutting the time required for this procedure opens the way for it to become a standard method. However, the procedure is only possible if the component contains a pin line. This study explores the nature and method of locating such pin lines. We also discuss under what conditions, if any, a section should be balanced before construction is completed. Generally, interactive section construction and restoration work best if the deformational sequence is known. Otherwise, the geologist may correct features that appear to be inaccurate, such as fault trajectories with dip angles unacceptably steep, but which in fact may be the product of break-back or fold-first sequences.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91043©1986 AAPG Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, June 15-18, 1986.