An algorithm for the reconstruction and visualization of 3-D groundwater units.

This article presents an approach for characterization of the three-dimensional (3-D) shape and relationships of groundwater units by using data obtained from well logs. The methodology encompasses the following main steps, based on the input information generation of a set of images applying geostatistical simulation techniques. Each image contains a section from three different types of groundwater unit: impermeable, less permeable and permeable; enhancement of the quality of the images by a mathematical morphology approach; generation of three new sets of images by applying 5-D vector feature space defined over the numerical field with a given distance. Each set contains sections from one groundwater unit; each set of groundwater sections is divided into subsets of similar sections by 3-D vector feature space. Each subset presents a 3-D body belonging to a certain 3-D groundwater unit. In order to create 3-D surfaces an approach based on regularities and essential border points is applied. A software tool was developed on the basis of the methodology. Experiments were performed using data from Vale de Milhacos, Setubal region, Portugal,.