Xu, Xueming¹, Carlos L. V. Aiken¹, John Thurmond¹ 
(1) University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX

ABSTRACT: Integration of New 3D Photorealistic Outcrop Mapping with a Previous Reservoir Characterization Study

At Coyote Basin and Corbula Gulch, Utah, a major DOE funded reservoir characterization study had been carried out by George McMechan, Kristian Soegaard and Janok Bhattacharya at UT-Dallas. The primary study documented detailed three-dimensional facies relationships within the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone, using traditional sedimentological analysis along cliff faces and Ground Penetrating Radar between the cliffs in 1998 and 1999. A digital mapping effort utilizing the full complement of tools was used including GPR, GPS, laser mapping of the cliffs and conventional core holes, stratigraphic sections and mapping (although the laser mapping was never utilized in modeling). The prototype test was Coyote Basin and then a more complete such study at Corbula Gulch. GPS had been used at Corbula (but not Coyote) to position all the data sets so that 3D flow models could be generated but the models did not actually tie to the cliff faces. In 2003 we fast scanned and digitally photographed both outcrops using GPS to locate points for reference to allow the new data to be integrated with the previous data sets. The final product are three dimensional models including all the data sets, the GPR, strat sections, core holes, and 3D photorealistic models of the cliff surface. This demonstrated the benefit of globally positioned, digital data mapping where new data can be added to the existing data, improving and enhancing the data sets and resulting in better modeling

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90026©2004 AAPG Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, April 18-21, 2004.