Integration of
Ground Penetrating Radar with Conventional Stratigraphic,
and Lidar Data to Investigate the Three-Dimensional
Geometry of a Tidal-Inlet Reservoir Analog, Upper Ferron Sandstone, Utah
Lee, Keumsuk1, Renaud Bouroullec1, Mark Tomasso1,
William Ambrose1 (1) The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Tidal-inlet sandstone reservoirs
typically have a complex geometry and distribution of heterogeneities. A set of
Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys, combined with detailed outcrop stratigraphic analysis and ground-based Lidar
(Light Detection and Ranging) data, was collected in the Upper Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone Formation, Utah. The main objective was
to delineate the submeter-scale internal structures
of a tidal-inlet depositional system. The study area is 16 km2 and
contains a series of five 20-m-high cliff faces in canyons that allow an
excellent 3D outcrop characterization. Stratigraphic
and Lidar data were used to describe the stratigraphic architecture and evolution of the tidal-inlet
in detail. A set of 3D and 2D GPR surveys were carried out to
better understand the 3D geometry of individual tidal bars. This GPR
survey set comprises one 3D survey (12 m x 23 m) acquired using 50 MHz
antennas, and fourteen 2D profiles acquired using 50 and 100 MHz antennas. The
GPR reflections are obtained down to 20 m depth. Three radar facies are identified in the GPR volume and correspond to
laterally imbricate tidal-inlet sandstones, thin-bedded delta-front deposits,
and coal-bearing muddy sediments. The coal-bearing facies
represent highstand deposits overlain by tidally
influenced, low-angle, thin lowstand delta-front foreset beds that were truncated by a series of laterally
migrating tidal-inlet sand bars. This integrated multi-disciplinary approach
demonstrates how high-resolution geological and geophysical outcrop data can be
combined to better understand complex depositional systems and to provide
pertinent information for enhancing reservoir models.