Russian geologists have created a program that deciphers the history of Earth's crustal fault formation and helps in prospecting for minerals. This was reported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The software was registered by employees of the Geoinformatics Laboratory of the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IGEM RAS).
The program analyzes lineaments — long lines on satellite images, usually traces of ancient faults. The algorithm is based on the model of British geologist Paul Lewis Hancock. The system automatically determines the main master fault, secondary feathering fractures, and the type of displacement that formed this system. The output is a reconstructed ancient stress field.
These data are precisely what is needed for ore prospecting: they allow identifying fault sections that were most permeable during the period of ore formation. Such zones served as a transport system for hot ore-bearing solutions. The program does not replace the geologist but frees them from routine, explained Vasily Minaev, head of the laboratory. The name is Lineament Stress Calculator. The word "calculator" was chosen deliberately: the tool provides data for reflection, rather than making decisions for a person.