Outcrop fracture characterization using terrestrial laser scanners: Deep-water Jackfork sandstone at Big Rock Quarry, Arkansas

Determination of fracture orientation can be an important aspect of structural analysis in reservoir characterization. The availability of ground-based laser scanner systems opens up new possibilities for the determination of fracture surface orientation in rock outcrops. Scanners are available in low-sample-density, low-accuracy, and fast, high-sample-density, high-accuracy models. These automatic laser scanner systems produce enormous volumes or “clouds” of point data at an instrument-dependent accuracy and resolution, which can be at the millimeter level.