Advances in data capture and computer technology have made possible the collection of three-dimensional, high-resolution, digital geological data from outcrop analogs. This paper presents new methodologies for the acquisition and utilization of three-dimensional information generated by groundbased laser scanning (lidar) of outcrops. A complete workfl ow is documented-from outcrop selection through data collection, processing and building of virtual outcropsto geological interpretation and the building of geocellular models using an industry-standard, reservoir-modeling software. Data sets from the Roda Sandstone in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Grabens region of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA, are used to illustrate the application of the workfl ow to sedimentary and structural problems at a reservoir scale.Subsurface reservoir models are limited by available geological data. Outcrop analogs from comparable systems, such as the Roda Sandstone and the Grabens, are commonly used to provide additional input to models of the subsurface. Outcrop geocellular models can be analyzed both statically and dynamically, wherein static examination involves visual inspection and the extraction of quan-titative data on body geometry, and dynamic investigation involves the simulation of fl uid fl ow through the analog model.The work presented in this study demonstrates the utility of lidar as a data collection technique for the building of more accurate outcrop-based geocellular models. The aim of this publication is to present the fi rst documentation of a complete workfl ow that extends from outcrop selection to model investigation through the presentation of two worked data sets.
Advances in data capture and computer technology have made possible the collection of three-dimensional, high-resolution, digital geological data from outcrop analogs. This paper presents new methodologies for the acquisition and utilization of three-dimensional information generated by groundbased laser scanning (lidar) of outcrops. A complete workfl ow is documented-from outcrop selection through data collection, processing and building of virtual outcropsto geological interpretation and the building of geocellular models using an industry-standard, reservoir-modeling software. Data sets from the Roda Sandstone in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Grabens region of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA, are used to illustrate the application of the workfl ow to sedimentary and structural problems at a reservoir scale. Subsurface reservoir models are limited by available geological data. Outcrop analogs from comparable systems, such as the Roda Sandstone and the Grabens, are commonly used to provide additional input to models of the subsurface. Outcrop geocellular models can be analyzed both statically and dynamically, wherein static examination involves visual inspection and the extraction of quantitative data on body geometry, and dynamic investigation involves the simulation of fl uid fl ow through the analog model. The work presented in this study demonstrates the utility of lidar as a data collection technique for the building of more accurate outcrop-based geocellular models. The aim of this publication is to present the fi rst documentation of a complete workfl ow that extends from outcrop selection to model investigation through the presentation of two worked data sets.
This paper discusses the application of laser scanning and photo-realistic modelling to aid the study of geological outcrops, using two examples from central and eastern Utah, USA, which are analogues to subsurface hydrocarbon fields. Terrestrial laser scanning point clouds were triangulated to obtain high-resolution surface representations, which were combined with semi-metric imagery to give texture-mapped photo-realistic models of the outcrops. Such models provide the basis for geological interpretation and were used to reconstruct the geometries of layers over the extent of the study area. The digitised geological layers were in turn used to build geocellular volumes that capture the properties of the geology. These models were built in subsurface reservoir modelling software and were used to simulate the flow of fluids through the reservoir analogue. In this way, the spatial information provided significantly more detailed quantitative data and greatly improved the outcrop studies compared to traditional field techniques.
This study presents a methodology for the quantitative description of small‐scale delta clinothems. The quantitative bed‐data analysis is based on three‐dimensional virtual outcrop models generated by ground‐based laser scanning (Light Detection and Ranging). A large number of clinothem bed measurements have been collected from the ancient forced regressive delta system of the Panther Tongue that crops out in Utah, USA. In river‐dominated marginal marine environments, clinothems separated by clinoform surfaces represent the former position of the delta front as it prograded. Systematic collection of data from virtual outcrop models has allowed for accurate, spatially constrained measurement of individual bed thicknesses and the compilation of a detailed database on clinothems and associated clinoform geometries. Measurement locations were selected so that each measurement was 10 m down depositional dip from the previous one. The study area covers 5 km2 within which 2376 measurements were made from 50 separate clinothems in 320 different positions within the virtual outcrop. A bed taper parameter permitted the thinning of the clinothems to be described as a single number and thus allowed relative comparison between beds. Combined measurements were also used to calculate the average dip angle of the clinothems. Analysis of the vertical and lateral stacking of the clinothems has revealed a series of stratigraphic cycles which are termed bedsets (stream‐mouth bars). The surfaces that bound the bedsets are unremarkable and it is unlikely that their significance would be recognized without this style of detailed analysis. A cyclic depositional pattern, interpreted as related to autocyclic processes and compensational stacking of mouth bars, is proposed as the origin of these packages. Mapped length/thickness trends constrain the spread of these variables, and can be used to constrain subsurface models of analogous hydrocarbon reservoirs.
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