Empirical Understanding of Sedimentary Architecture

The shape and stacking of sedimentary bodies, especially sandstones which form hydrocarbon reservoirs, is controlled by a number of processes at the time of deposition. These include the rate of subsidence, the rate of sediment supply, the sedimentary env ironment, the climate and the grainsize of the sediment. These factors are all interrelated and interact to produce a wide variety of geometries at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. In order to deconvolve the effects of the various controlling var iables we propose to use recent developments in digital data collection to acquire a series of very large outcrop datasets. These datasets will be used to empirically analyse the roles of the various parameters using a multivariate statistical analysis. The data will be collected using both ground-based and oblique helicopter-mounted lidar scanning, which allows for the digital acquisition of outcrops in a short period of time. New algorithms will be developed to maximise the efficiency of data acquisit ion and processing, and to aid geologists carry out interpretation using state-of-the-art virtual reality models. Once analysed the extracted data will be loaded into a purpose built, fully searchable GIS system. The database will be expandable beyond the current project, allowing additional data from literature and previous studies to be added. The project is led by CIPR in Bergen, and is being undertaken in collaboration with TU Dresden, Imperial College London and StatoilHydro. It is supported by a c onsortium of oil companies through the FORCE programme. The project includes funding for three PhD students and up to eight masters students and will run over four years.