3D geological modelling of a complex buried-valley network delineated from borehole and AEM data

Buried tunnel valleys are common features in formerly glaciated areas, and where present, they are very important for the groundwater recharge and flow. Delineation of the structures and modelling of the infill is therefore very important in relation to groundwater mapping. Typically, borehole information is too sparse to enable a detailed delineation of the structures, whereas densely covering airborne electromagnetic data have proven to be very useful for this. In the last decades, the mapping approach has been studied carefully, but the 3D modelling of the valley structures has not been described to the same degree yet. In this study, we create a 3D geological model of an area that is characterised by a complex network of buried valleys mapped with a spatially dense airborne electromagnetic survey. Due to the comprehensive dataset, the modelling requires formulation of an advanced strategy. This contains a number of steps, where the AEM-derived resistivity data are initially interpreted based on the geological background knowledge to identify the buried valleys and build a conceptual geological model. Secondly, the age relationships between the valleys are established from the valley orientations and their internal cross-cut relationships. Thirdly, the deep erosional surfaces are modelled. Subsequently, the interpreted age relationships are utilised to trim the valley floor surfaces, such that younger valleys cut older. Finally, a voxel model is built and populated with lithofacies and stratigraphical units. The model is constructed as a combined layer-based and voxel model in order to map both the overall structures as well as the lithological variations within the 3D model domain. The final model contains 20 buried valleys that show a complex cross-cut setting that indicate the presence of at least eight valley generations. Most of the valley infills show lithological variations, and the final voxel model thus contains 42 different geological units.