Glass Earth Project

Fractal Technologies is pleased to announce that it will provide custom database and 3D visualisation software for CSIRO's geoscience researchers. A customised version of FracSIS will be used by CSIRO geologists across Australia as part of the Glass Earth project - a combination of advanced sensing technologies and geoscience modelling techniques aiming to "see" into the Earth's crust to a depth of a kilometre or more. This technology is expected to become the area selection tool of choice for Australia - and potentially the world - over the coming decade.

CSIRO chose Fractal Technologies for the Glass Earth project because FracSIS is specifically designed to store and manage terabytes of geoscientific data. This scalable database technology will provide a standardised platform to manage of all of CSIRO's geological, geochemical and geophysical data gathered from across Australia. Geoscientists will then be able to visualise the entire project's data in 3D to aid interpretation and collaboration. As part of the project, Fractal Technologies will develop web services to enable geoscientists to publish and distribute their 3D models around the world. These services will ensure that offices spread across the country will have instant access to the most recent data and interpretations. This web technology will be added to future commercial versions of the FracSIS Product Suite.

As part of the Glass Earth project, CSIRO and Fractal Technologies are jointly researching how FracSIS can be used in disciplines complementary to exploration and mining. For example, FracSIS services could be used to model groundwater flow, thereby influencing environmental policy decisions.