AEMInterpConvert – Geoscience Australia’s Online Airborne Electromagnetic Interpretation Conversion Tool

In recent years, Geoscience Australia, along with the state and territory geological surveys, have collected and processed vast amounts of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data. With the acquisition of the AusAEM survey (Ley-Cooper et al., 2020) and the intention to collect large amounts of interpretation-specific metadata for the Estimates of Geological and Geophysical Surfaces database (EGGS; Mathews et al., 2020), an assessment was made on the available software capable of efficiently creating the intended interpretations. Shortcomings in existing applications prompted the development of a new interpretation workflow: the Multilayered chronostratigraphic airborne electromagnetic interpretation workflow (Wong et al., 2022). This workflow facilitates digitising the interpretation linework and attributing these lines with a wide range of interpretation-specific data. Development of this workflow prioritised accessibility by utilising widely-used Geographic Information Systems and open-source software. The conversion component can provide the interpretation outputs in a range of formats compatible with most applicable software packages. This conversion process also includes the production of interpretation aids prior to interpretation and to validate spatial, geometric and attribute data, post interpretation. The conversion component in this workflow was initially scripted in the AWK programming language, which is currently used in Geoscience Australia’s production Multilayered chronostratigraphic AEM interpretation workflow (Wong et al., 2022). This conversion process has been used to convert AEM interpretation from over 115,000 flight line km, covering mostly 20 km-spaced flight lines over an area of 2,085,000 km2 or 27% of the Australian continent (Connors et al., 2022; Folkes et al., 2022; Vilhena et al. 2023; Wong et al., 2020; Wong et al., 2021; Wong et al., 2023).The AEMInterpConvert tool has been developed to improve accessibility and user-friendliness of the interpretation conversion component of the workflow. This tool allows users to produce the interpretation aids, run the validations and export interpretation in various formats without the need for any specialised software or programming experience. This document provides a metadata statement and user guide for the AEMInterpConvert’s online graphical user interface. Outputs from this tool are designed to support investigations of cover thicknesses and depths to basements for 3D geological modelling. These interpretations and models are in turn used to inform academia, industry and government on decision-making, land use, environmental management, hazard mapping and resource exploration.

近年来，澳大利亚地质调查局（Geoscience Australia）会同各州及领地地质调查机构，采集并处理了海量航空电磁（airborne electromagnetic, AEM）数据。随着AusAEM勘测（Ley-Cooper等，2020）的完成，以及为地质与地球物理表面估算数据库（Estimates of Geological and Geophysical Surfaces, EGGS；Mathews等，2020）收集大量解译专用元数据的计划推进，研究人员对现有可高效完成目标解译的软件开展了评估。现有应用程序存在的不足，促使全新的解译工作流得以开发：多层年代地层航空电磁解译工作流（Wong等，2022）。该工作流支持对解译测线进行数字化，并为这些测线赋予各类解译专用数据。开发过程中，团队优先考虑易用性，采用了广泛使用的地理信息系统（Geographic Information Systems, GIS）与开源软件完成搭建。其转换模块可输出适配多数相关软件包的多种格式解译结果。该转换流程还包含两项功能：一是在解译前生成解译辅助工具，二是在解译后对空间、几何与属性数据进行验证。本工作流的转换模块最初采用AWK编程语言（AWK programming language）编写，目前已应用于澳大利亚地质调查局的量产型多层年代地层航空电磁解译工作流（Wong等，2022）。该转换流程已被用于处理超过11.5万飞行测线公里的航空电磁解译数据，覆盖区域以20公里间隔的飞行测线为主，总面积达208.5万平方公里，约占澳大利亚大陆面积的27%（Connors等，2022；Folkes等，2022；Vilhena等，2023；Wong等，2020；Wong等，2021；Wong等，2023）。为提升该工作流中解译转换模块的易用性与友好性，研究人员开发了AEMInterpConvert工具。该工具无需用户具备专业软件或编程经验，即可生成解译辅助工具、运行验证流程，并以多种格式导出解译结果。本文件旨在为AEMInterpConvert的在线图形用户界面提供元数据说明与用户指南。本工具生成的输出结果，可用于支撑覆盖层厚度、基底深度相关研究，以服务于三维地质建模。这些解译结果与模型可进一步为学术界、工业界及政府部门的决策制定、土地利用、环境管理、灾害制图与资源勘探提供参考依据。