1. Creating 3D Geological Maps Using Sketch Up
Jaime Toro
Department of Geology and Geography
West Virginia University
On the Cutting Edge - Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty Teaching with New Geoscience Tools: Visualizations, Models, and Online Data University of Massachusetts – Amherst Feb , 2008

2. Problem:
Find a low-cost and easy to use way of creating 3D models of geological structures

3. Solution: SketchUp Software for making Architectural 3D Models
Widely used in other industries
Costs:
SketchUp 6.0– Free (some limitations)
SketchUp Pro 6.0- $495 or Free Educational License
Systems: Windows, Mac OS X 10.4

5. 3D Warehouse: Lots of free models of everything

6. 3D Warehouse: Geological models are beginning to appear
Global Paleogeography
Mars Geology

7. How SketchUp works Clever user interface for extruding 2D objects
Great for architectural stuff (cubes, cylinders, pyramids, etc)
It is based on edges and planes, not volumes
Not so great for free-form objects, but….

8. How to Make a 3D Geological Model
Make sequential cross sections with kinky geometry
Interpret both above and below the ground
Export to SketchUp as .dxf together with 2D map
Put each geological unit in a SketchUp layer
Hide all layers but one
Join the cross sections to form a surface
Repeat for all your units
Import the DEM
Intersect the 3D model and the DEM
Optional: add colors, textures, etc.

9. Interaction with other software
IMPORT
.jpg, .tif, .bmp
.dem
ESRI shapefiles
AutoCAD .dwg, dxf
EXPORT
Google Earth
ArcScene: Import as 3D Marker Symbols
AutoCAD .dxf, .dwg
.vrml (for GeoWall, etc)