Improved Multi-Scale Fracture Models Based on Quantitative Analysis of Outcrop Analogues

Summary Characterisation of fracture systems from surface exposures provides critical constraints when developing a Conceptual Fracture Model. Analysing naturally fractured outcrops using a combination of traditional field methods and new geospatial technologies provides robust fracture data at multiple scales, and allows the likely range of values for fracture parameters to be quantified. Key technologies include terrestrial lidar and digital photogrammetry (ground-based or from unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs). We illustrate this approach with extensive data from fractured Mesozoic carbonates in Iraq and UAE. The resultant fracture parameters form ideal input for discrete fracture network (DFN) modelling.