Linking Seismic
and Sub-Seismic Fault Predictions Using Laser Scanning of Outcrop Analogues
Jones, Richard R.1, Dave Healy2,
Jonathan Imber2, Ruth Wightman2, Kenneth J.W. McCaffrey2,
Robert E. Holdsworth2 (1) Dept. of Earth Sciences, Durham, United
Kingdom (2) Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
Although fault models derived from
seismic reflection data often provide an excellent view of 3D fault geometries
at a large scale, outcrop analogues can give additional geometric and kinematic
constraints to help bridge the critical scale-gap needed to integrate seismic
and borehole datasets. We use terrestrial laser scanning (ground-based LiDAR)
to carry out precise measurements of the 3D geometry of well exposed fracture
surfaces. A case study using regular laser-scanning of an active opencast coal
mine, provides additional constraint, with 3D fault geometries sequentially
revealed throughout the rock volume, as the coal face progressively migrates
with time.
The laser scan data provide unprecedented
detail and allow spatial variation in various fracture attributes to be
quantified, including 3D curvature, fracture connectivity, branch-line
geometry, relationship between corrugations and fault splays, detailed fault
throw profiles, and the spatial correlation between
fracture density and fold curvature. Measurement of such fracture parameters,
collected from a range of outcrop analogues, provides direct quantitative input
for calibration of geomechanical models, and for validation of fracture
networks derived by deterministic or stochastic methods.
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California