Outcrop-scale fracture trace identification using surface roughness derived from a high-density point cloud
Abstract
Owing to the advent of terrestrial laser scanners (TLS), high-density point cloud data has become increasingly available to the geoscience research community. Research groups have started producing their own point clouds for various applications, gradually shifting their emphasis from obtaining the data towards extracting more and meaningful information from the point clouds. Extracting fracture properties from three-dimensional data in a (semi-)automated manner has been an active area of research in geosciences. Several studies have developed various processing algorithms for extracting only planar surfaces. In comparison, (semi-)automated identification of fracture traces at the outcrop scale, which could be used for mapping fracture distribution have not been investigated frequently. Understanding the spatial distribution and configuration of natural fractures is of particular importance, as they directly influence fluid-flow through the host rock. Surface roughness, typically defined as the deviation of a natural surface from a reference datum, has become an important metric in geoscience research, especially with the increasing density and accuracy of point clouds. In the study presented herein, a surface roughness model was employed to identify fracture traces and their distribution on an ophiolite outcrop in Oman. Surface roughness calculations were performed using orthogonal distance regression over various grid intervals. The results demonstrated that surface roughness could identify outcrop-scale fracture traces from which fracture distribution and density maps can be generated. However, considering outcrop conditions and properties and the purpose of the application, the definition of an adequate grid interval for surface roughness model and selection of threshold values for distribution maps are not straightforward and require user intervention and interpretation.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFMNG51A0093O
- Keywords:
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- 4499 General or miscellaneous;
- NONLINEAR GEOPHYSICS