Spatial Data Types and Structures

The initial step in any geological characterization involves management, correlation and integration of the variety of data types that represent our source information. Efficient organization and management of large quantities of data of various types and structures are critical to successful computerization of the geological characterization process. On a typical characterization project we must deal with anywhere from 20 to several thousand borehole logs, each of which may contain several hundred intervals, and each interval may have anywhere from 10 to a 100 observations and measurements associated with it. We must also deal with numerous maps in digital form, each of which may contain tens (or hundreds) of thousands of points. All of this information has limited use to us unless we can integrate it in a spatial context, and selectively retrieve and display it in appropriate fashion.