PHOTOREALISTIC MODELING OF OUTCROPS AND APPLICATIONS FOR DIGITIZING GEOLOGY

The cybermapping lab at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has been generating 3D photorealistic models and digitizing geology for almost 20 years. Its goal is to develop efficient workflows for creating high-resolution 3D photorealistic models, enabling geologists to extract more accurate qualitative and quantitative information from geologic outcrops. A collaboration between Shell and UTD to characterize outcrops of the Eagle Ford Formation demonstrated that a detailed digitization of geological features on a photorealistic model allowed geologists to use the models as an analogue for reservoirs. This project utilized Geo Analysis Tools (GAT), an ArcGIS software extension developed by UTD collaborators Lionel White and Jarvis Cline for digitizing geologic features on 3D models.UTD is also utilizing GAT to characterize fracture zones and extract quantitative 3D fracture orientations from outcrops in the Fish Lake Valley fault zone.

UTD’s cybermapping lab has been involved in digital integration projects. Some of these projects have been funded by the Natural Science Foundation (NSF) and petroleum companies such as STAT Oil. Additionally, UTD’s involvement in the Digital Integrated Stratigraphy Project (DISP) generated a high resolution, high accuracy, digital photorealistic 3D model of a Palaeozoic Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). This project offered an opportunity to resolve stratigraphic ambiguities of locations based around Paleozoic research. UTD’s cybermapping lab continues to advance its equipment and software to allow faster data processing and digitization. Much of this also incorporates different software viewing platforms where users can interact with the photorealistic model off and on-site. One method enables users to annotate and digitize geologic features on a photorealistic model using an iPad and a PC. UTD hopes to enable users to effortlessly interact and extract valuable information from photorealistic models.