Conventional techniques for outcrop characterization primarily involve the use of “flat” interpretations of reconstructed photomosaics of outcrop sections that are usually extremely rugose in surface appearance and distorted by parallax. The assessment of lateral facies variation provided by such interpretations is thus based on a false two-dimensional projection of a complex three-dimensional surface. Vertical variability of such sections is usually assessed by a limited number of measured sections that form the “anchor points” or lines for the reconstructed interpretations, which are assumed to be perpendicular to bedding. Little or no information is usually available in the third dimension.

Using a variety of architectural elements from the Neales Delta, Lake Eyre, South Australia as case examples, we show how it is possible to make true 3D interpretations using the latest graphics workstation technology. The importance and advantages of fitting high-resolution digital photographs onto a carefully defined outcrop / surface topography will be demonstrated, together with the integrated use of standard measured sections and shallow geophysical techniques to identify sedimentological objects in the third dimension, behind the outcrop face or below the topographical surface. Results from such integrated surface outcrop characterization have been successfully linked to stratigraphic interpretations based on detailed core and auger descriptions.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90937©1998 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah