Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The goal of the proposed research program is to devise and develop new, more sophisticated, more capable computer modelling and interpretation techniques for geophysical and geological survey data. Particular attention will be paid to methods for jointly modelling and interpreting geophysical and geological data, i.e., methods for automatically constructing and refining a "digital twin" computer Earth model that is consistent with all available geophysical and geological data. The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables is critical to slowing down and reversing climate change. This transition needs metals and critical minerals for the expansion of electricity distribution systems, manufacture of electric vehicles, batteries, etc., and in greater quantities than ever before. To satisfy this demand, more metals and minerals need to be located and mined. However, all the easy-to-find ore-bodies have already been discovered, meaning achieving the increase in minerals supply needed for the energy transition is doubly challenging. Continuing to use the same methods as always and simply increasing the amount of geological and geophysical surveying being done will not be sufficient: significant improvements in the technology used for mineral exploration must be made. The proposed research program aims to do exactly this. The research program will investigate automated approaches that directly move and manipulate the surfaces in the digital twin Earth model that represent the divisions between the different rock types in the subsurface. This is analogous to adjusting the boundaries on a traditional geology map to match known occurrences of the various rock types, but doing so fully in 3D not just for the ground surface, and not actually seeing the rock types in the ground but using remote-sensing geophysical data. Mathematically, this is done by deriving a formula that quantifies how well the observed data, both geophysical and geological, are reproduced by data computed for the Earth model, and adjusting the locations and shapes of the surfaces in the model in such a way that the computed data get closer and closer to the observed values. Once the match between computed and observed data is small, the Earth model can be taken as representative of the distribution of the different rock types in the subsurface. Quantitative information, such as depth to an ore-body, and its size, can then be obtained from the model. The above-mentioned approach of working with interface-based Earth models, as opposed to the existing approach of using pixelated, mesh-based models, is entirely novel. This new method will provide a step change in computer modelling capabilities for geophysical and geological data, and thus contribute to the discovery of new ore deposits. This will help the energy transition become a reality. It will also benefit the mineral exploration industry, which is a significant employer of Canadians and a contributor to Canada's economy.