Digital Outcrop Models: Applications of Terrestrial Scanning Lidar Technology in Stratigraphic Modeling

Abstract

Laser ranging is extremely accurate and efficient. Terrestrial scanning lidar (light detection and ranging) applied to outcrop stratigraphic mapping enables researchers to capture laser range data at a rate of thousands of individual X, Y, Z and laser-intensity points per second. These data, in conjunction with complementary remotely and directly sampled data, are used to conduct high-precision facies characterization and to construct 3D geological computer models. Outcrop data are presented here to explain our workflow and to discuss the construction of rock-based 3D Digital Outcrop Models (DOMs). Reproducibility and quantification are the drivers of this methodology. High-resolution terrestrial lidar acquisition, processing, interpretation, and visualization are discussed and applied to mapping of geological surfaces in three dimensions. Laser-generated models offer scientists an unprecedented visualization medium in a quantitative 3D arena. Applications of this technology include constructing and visualizing complex 3D Earth models from outcrops for improved reservoir modeling, flow simulation in hydrocarbon and aquifer systems, and property modeling to constrain forward seismic modeling.

Fossil Vertebrate Tracks as Paleopenetrometers: Confounding Effects of Foot Morphology

“…FEA was first applied in many fields of engineering and physics. Its modern application has gone beyond these fields and, nowadays, FEA is used in comparative biomechanics (McHenry et al 2006;Oldfield et al 2012;Walmsley et al 2013), biology (Madzvamuse et al 2003), medicine (Kraft 2012), anthropology (Panagiotopoulou 2009) and geology (Bellian et al 2005). In the field of paleontology, it is used both for bone remains and ichnology (Moreno et al 2007;Arbour et al 2009;Manning et al 2009;Xing et al 2009;Falkingham 2010).…”

Photo-Based 3d Scanning vs. Laser Scanning – Competitive Data Acquisition Methods for Digital Terrain Modelling of Steep Mountain Slopes

“…Such a large, multi-gigabyte data sets are a great challenge in terms of manipulation, interpretation and management. While the great point density increases the final model accuracy, it also consumes more time during data acquisition (Bellian et al, 2005) which is crucial for rapid accidents registration. High prices limit currently the accessibility of TLS.…”

Point clouds from oblique stereo-imagery: Two outcrop case studies across scales and accessibility

“…Visualisation of geological outcrop data in so-called Digital Outcrop Models (DOM) is gaining importance and popularity within the field of geology [Bellian et al, 2005]. In a DOM, geological data (geological boundaries, bedding, faults etc.)…”

“…In a DOM, geological data (geological boundaries, bedding, faults etc.) is presented within a virtual environment that can be rotated in three dimensional space and used for geological interpretation [Bellian et al, 2005]. DOMs have found particular use in the fields of reservoir studies [Pringle et al, 2004;Enge et al, 2007;Janson et al, 2007;Rotevatn et al, 2009;Fabuel-Perez et al, 2010], structural studies [Ahlgren and Holmlund, 2003;Sagy et al, 2007;Olariu et al, 2008] and in cliff erosion and natural hazards studies Rosser et al, 2005;Jaboyedoff et al, 2007;Kuhn and Prüfer, 2014] as well as in the generation of virtual field trips [McCaffrey et al, 2010].…”

“…Central to the generation of a DOM is the digital elevation model that describes the morphology of the outcrop. Such a model is most times generated using a ground-based Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) [Bellian et al, 2005;Buckley et al, 2008a;Buckley et al, 2010] but could equally well be supplied by other means such as for example photogrammetry. Development within the digital camera industry with increased image sensor resolution as well as software, both within traditional softcopy photogrammetry and in the emerging fields of structure from motion (SfM) [Lowe, 2004;Snavely et al, 2008;Fonstad et al, 2013], and the combination with dense stereo matching from Multi View Stereo (MVS) [Hirschmüller, 2005;James and Robson, 2012;Favalli et al, 2012], has made image-based semi-automatic terrain model extraction from oblique images within the geoscience field highly feasible.…”