Note
We have provided tooltips for many buttons, text fields or other interactive elements of the programme. If you need an explanation, you can hold the mouse over the element for a few seconds and the tooltip will appear.
Background information: underground models
What does the model represent and what information can be retrieved?
Layer-based structural models show the structure of the subsurface as it is formed by the historical deposition or formation of sediments and rocks under certain environmental conditions. They also form the basis for volumetric parameter models. These are filled with all measured and interpreted subsurface information and made available for combined queries and visualisations.
The most commonly used geostatistical methods are used for parameter analysis. These are variogram analysis and ordinary 2D and 3D kriging as well as 2D Voronoi tessellation for parameters. An easy-to-use graphical tool should lead to a smooth workflow. The results are stored as regular parameter grid or voxel models. These can be combined with layer-based or third-party parametric models. It helps the modeller to quickly and identify causal relationships in subsurface data.
¶ Objects
In each view, you will see an object tree on the left-hand side, next to the object visualisations. This can basically be found in the objects tab and is divided into categories for clarity.
The following object categories can be found under the objects tab:
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→ | vertical sections trough the model |
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→ | 2/3D-maps (like topographical maps, borehole maps or horizontal sections) |
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→ | natural surfaces (soil or groundwater surfaces) |
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→ | structures of geological layers |
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→ | geological dislocation |
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→ | 3D-grid of a subsoil to describe their properties |
With a double click you can open all areas, for example Sections or Maps. With a click on the 
-box on the corresponding object, you can show and hide it.
If you right-click on the object name in the tree, a menu opens that contains standard options and individual options for use. We call this menu the context menu in the wiki.
Note:
By right-clicking on object categories or objects in the tree or partially in the views, many functions are processed in the SubsurfaceViewer.
¶ Options for all objects
With a right click on an object category, actions can be carried out for all objects. With the option hide all objects they can be hidden and with show all objects they can be shown.
With Delete all objects the objects can be deleted from the category.
With 
delete all objects they can be deleted from the category.
Important Note:
If you delete objects from the object tree of the 2D-View, you remove it from the entire project. It is no longer taken into account when saving and changes are not saved. If you delete an object in the 3D view, it only disappears from the 3D view and can be inserted here again.
The following options are available by default for the individual objects:
¶ Delete object
With a right-glick and delete object you can delete a single object.
¶ Isolate object
For a single object, it is possible to use isolate object to hide all other objects and have only the selected object appear in the respective view.
¶ Send to back & Send to front
In the 2D view is the option to move elements to the foreground or to the background of the current view order. With send to front an object is shown above the others. With send to back it is displayed in the background.
Note:
If you right-click on the-icon above the page tree in the 2D view, a menu appears with the entries search and sort 2D map view.
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When using the search function, a window opens on the left. You can also do this by opening the context menu (right click) on any object and selecting search. You can also enter a word part of the object to searche for it in the text field so that a list with the selection appears. This simplifies the search. When you have found your target object, double-click on the name in the list and, depending on the object type, a marker will be displayed in the 2D-View. For boreholes, the 2D view is centred on the point and "zoomed". For all other objects, the background colour is changed in the tree for the object so that you can find easier.If you use sort 2D map view, the window on the right appears. The list with the object names shows you the sorting of your objects for the view in the order from front (top) to back (bottom). Here you can drag and drop individual objects in the list to change the order in which they are displayed.
¶ Link to 3D view
With this option you can add objects to the 3D view. They appear in the corresponding object tree and can be shown and hidden as usual. You have a right-click context menu available for 3D, which, offers reduced functions for most objects. The menu item is greyed out and therefore inactive if the object is already in the 3D view.
¶ Rename
Here you can change the name of the object via a simple input field.
¶ Meta data window
Each object in SubsurfaceViewer has the option to open its own meta data window.
The window is similar in structure to the metadata that can be created with the QGIS software. The contents are based on the ISO 19115 standard for metadata of geological information.
Note:
QGIS is more suitable for the creation of metadata according to ISO 19115 than the functions available here because of a much more extensive extension. Here the focus has been placed on interoperability, so metadata can be exported and imported from QGIS to SubsurfaceViewer and vice versa without losing the ISO standard (Export to/Load from QGIS). For simplified meta-data, such as notes and comments, you can fill the text field abstract in SubsurfaceViewer.
Note:
Meta data are generated in the system as soon as you have opened the meta data window of an object. If you do not want corresponding contents to be saved in the GSIPR project file, uncheck the save in project-file box. If you use the SubsurfaceViewer Reader, this function is greyed out. In the MX version you can use it as usual.
The tab sheet spatial information is automatically filled with information about the value range, size and dimensions for individual object types.
Under categories and keywords and fees and licences, data can be entered manually. A tab sheet for contact information and an editing history can be called up and entered yourself. You can save the information and load it to QGIS or vice versa.
The SubsurfaceViewer does not work with projections or other coordinate systems. To access further entries under spatial information, QGIS must be used and the information loaded from there into the SubsurfaceViewer.
¶ search
You open a small dialogue window with which you can set the view for quickly finding a target object. The functionalities of the "search window" are described here.
¶ Entry Noticebook
Here you have direct access to the notebook for this object. This can be advantageous for you when documenting your modelling - especially if you are working on a model together with other colleagues or if you want to transfer it.
Details on the notebook can be found in this article: Notebook
¶ Settings
Here you can access the individually tailored object functions. You will find the corresponding descriptions in the menu category object functions here in the wiki - blue area on the left.
¶ General settings of the views
¶ Settings - 2D-View
¶ General
In the 2D view, under settings and the flag general, you can change the colour for the navigation cross and label the boreholes.
If label borehole is ticked, the borehole map that you have loaded with add objects is labelled according to your entries and according to the object function set. You use the location name here. If you have loaded a LocViewObject, the names on the 2D map that you have selected in the settings are displayed here. These can also be metadata or markers for location groups.
¶ Sections
Under the tab sections you can mark the start and end points of all sections and insert the section names into the graphic.
If you have set a buffer distance for the projection of nearby boreholes in your profile section settings, they will be displayed in a different colour in the map when the check mark mark boreholes is activated, than boreholes that have been concretely included in the section. You can change this colour with the colour button.
¶ Settings - 3D-View
¶ General
Under general you set general properties of the 3D view.
If you activate the background checkbox, you should have previously added a background image or a photo in jpg, png, tif, gif or bmp format using the 
icon next to image. This makes it easy to add a corporate identity to your model. In the example, we have been provided with sample data and a logo by the Hessian State Agency for Nature, Environment and Geology (HLNUG). You can see a voxel model of the probability of occurrence of cohesive layers at certain depths below ground surface. The results were produced in the 3D-NORG project.
Activate cross to have the synchronised navigation cross, which you already know from the 2D view and the profile section window, rendered here as well. If you move your mouse in the 2D view or in the profile section, the cross is always moved in 3D. This can be very helpful when modelling in the final phase, for example, if you want to adjust layer excursions more precisely to a certain structure of the upper edge of the terrain. Here you will find an example. With a tick at extended a grid with two intersecting cross-sections is shown instead of a simple cross-hair. The additional lines of the grid can help with orientation.
With limited rotation the rotation movement of the 3D model is limited to the vertical. The active check mark means that you can rotate the model to the bottom or top, but not beyond. The advantage of this setting is that you can achieve vertical views of your model, which are not possible with an unrestricted rotation movement.
With an active check mark at auto rotation you trigger a rotation in a certain direction with the mouse and the model will continue to rotate in this direction. With a click in the 3D window you can stop the rotation.
Show info window automatically causes the opening of the info window automatically when you click the 
button in the 3D window while selecting an object.
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With multiView the 3D view is divided into four duplicates. Each of these 3D duplicates shows the model from different directions. If you trigger a rotation with the mouse, the other views will behave synchronously.
With the help of the sliders horizontal and vertical the perspectives of the views can be changed.
If you have a 3D screen, the sections at T/B and L/R are useful. Depending on which technique your 3D screen uses, divide either TOP/BUTTOM or LEFT/RIGHT to get a real 3D impression of your model.
With stereo depth the depth of the 3D view is changed for visualisation with red-green anaglyph glasses. To do this, select the option switch on/off anaglyphs 
in the toolbar. Change the depth and select the view that is most comfortable for you.
¶ Scale
With frame you determine whether the box or the frame of the 3D view shows a front edge. This edge can serve as orientation. But for certain visualisations, e.g. for publications, it can be disturbing.
With north arrow a compass is displayed in the 3D view, which shows the cardinal directions when the model is rotated. With a tick at top the compass is placed at the top or bottom of the view.
With a tick at label, the labelling of the coordinate axes is shown or hidden.
With division, you can activate or deactivate the grid lines in the frame. If all ticks are removed, the complete frame of the 3D model is hidden.
With scale colour and light colour, the colour of the frame and the lighting of the 3D model are changed.
The lighting and the position of the sunlight is changed with light position 360 and light angle 90. This results in different shadows that emphasise differences in height differently.
The slider to texture scale changes the size of loaded textures via the general project legend, if available. To see an effect, the check mark for Textures must be activated next to the legend in the main menu bar.
¶ Label
With the label tab you can change the axis labelling. You can adjust the font design with font type, font size and font colour and assign axis titles. In the example on the left you see axis settings with the grid deactivated. You can make this invisible under the tab scale (see above). The slider for font depth determines the scale of the 3D effect of the axis titles, if any have been assigned or, if the frame is active.
¶ Exploded
You can display the individual layers expanded (exploded) and optionally displaced in relation to each other. With the help of the slider for NS-displacement, the layers can be displaced towards the north and south and under EW-displacement towards the west and east. With the help of the Z-displacement scale, the layers can be pulled apart with a large distance. In the screen shots below you can see two examples of how the view can be changed. At our home you can see an exploded modus in action. The template video for the animated gif was created with the implement video function.
¶ Video
The video tab is a comprehensive function of SubsurfaceViewer and is covered under record videos.
¶ Settings - Cross-Section-View
You can see the menu bar for the cross-section view settings on the left-hand side.
¶ General
Under general, the settings for holes are adapted specifically for the cross-section view. If you keep the checkmark confirm all active, they are applied equally to all profile sections, otherwise only to the currently active section.
Open the settings dialogue for the display of the drill columns in the section with the 
symbol. You can read the explanation under drillings.
Note:
The display for the boreholes via settings of the borehole map is independent of the display options in the profile section. If you open the separate borehole window with other displays, you have multiple possibilities to keep an eye on the information as a whole during modelling. You should leave the option send borehole logs in the tab extra functions active.
Show 2D logs displays the integrated holes in the 2D profile section window. You can find out how to fit holes directly into the section here: Construct profile sections. Show 3D logs influences the display of the drill holes in the sections that have been incorporated into the 3D view. For the 3D view use the right-click context menu of the profile sections.
If you have fitted one or more background image(s) into the profile section, you can switch them on and off with the check mark background image. Examples for this are seismic images or manually created profile section sketches from the literature, which are fitted into the section and displayed georeferenced. How to fit backround images into sections is described in profile sections.
With hang sticks on DTM the drill points are moved to the surface edge, i.e. to the DTM set in project settings. This is helpful if the measured starting heights of the boreholes do not quite match the digital elevation model used, but the model should consistently refer to the loaded elevation model.
Note:
It is often the case that surveyed heights from boreholes, that were drilled and archived some time ago show significantly different drill approach heights than the digital elevation model used in the project. Reason for such discrepancies can be the coarse resolution of a terrain model. In principle, it is correct to adjust the layers and thus the heights of the boreholes to the DTM used in order to make the model comprehensible. But if, for example, a borehole was made decades ago in an area that was artificially filled up by construction activities (e.g. road or bridge construction), then it would be more correct to represent the borehole with its original height and to treat the heights of the layers accordingly. We recommend careful research of historical satellite images and archived elevation models to make correct decisions. You will find how to effectively export a list of the deviations of your original drilling approach heights to the active DTM in this article. This can be very important for model documentation.
With Cross-points you define whether you want to see the position of the layer bottom edges in crossing profile sections in the active section as a marker. Working with cross-points is a fundamental part of constructing layers using profile section meshes.
Tipps and tricks for this can be found here.
With lines at infection point vertical lines are drawn at the drill points or the entered coordinates so that it is easier to see where and at what distance the drill holes or the bend points of the section are located.
To accept the settings, confirm with confirm.
If a section does not show what you expect, you can use confirm and
in the profile section toolbar.
¶ Layers
With the tab layers the display of the layers in the section can be adjusted.
Under correlated layers the settings for the view of the interactive correlation are made. With a tick at lines, black frames are drawn around the layers. With a check mark at send to the front the manually constructed layer bottom edges with their lines and polygons are displayed above the calculated lines (see also calculate model) and polygons of the surface triangulation. In this way you can see whether the calculated triangulation in the section still corresponds to your ideas or your construction, or whether artefacts have arisen. To apply the settings, confirm with Confirm.
Background information:
With the MX version of the SubsurfaceViewer, layers are created via the manual construction of layer bottom edges in a profile section mesh and then transferred to a triangle mesh. When creating the triangles, there may be local deviations between the manually constructed layer and the calculated surface. Therefore, the representation can be done selectively.
¶ Extra Functions
Under extra functions the font and font size can be set on the axes. The font is also adopted for the bore labelling, but not the font size. The latter only applies to the axis labelling. If you want to change the font size on the bores, go to the tab general and click on the button with the symbol. The description for the input mask that opens can be found here.
At max. end depth the maximum depth of the profile section view is defined. If there is no number, it is always the full vertical extension.
With distance all boreholes are shown that are within the specified buffer distance (in metres) from the section. For example, if the distance is 50 m, all boreholes that are up to 50 m away from the section are projected vertically into the section.
The section axes can be shown and hidden with show scale.
There is a small cross which marks the centre of the view. This can be hidden with a tick at mark centre point.
To apply the settings, confirm with confirm.