Abduction and Deduction in Geologic Hypermaps

. A geologic map is a 2-dimensional representation of an interpretation of 3-D phenomena. The work of a geologist consists mainly in (i) inferring subsurface structures from observed surface phenomena and (ii) building abductive models of events and processes that shaped them during the geologic past. In order to do this, chains of explanations are used to reconstruct the Earth history step-by-step. In this context, many interpretations may be associated with a given output. In this paper, we first present the general contexts of geologic map manipulation and design. We then propose a framework for geologic map designers which supports multiple interpretations. 1 Introduction A geologic map of a given area is a 2-dimensional representation of accepted models of its 3-dimensional subsurface structures. It contains geologic data which allow an understanding of the distribution of rocks that make up the crust of the Earth as well as the orientation of the structures they conta..