WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

Manual of Structural Geophysics

Practical Exercises

Petrophysics

Correct
Solutions

Geophysics Geology

Mark Jessell

(modified by Laurent Ailleres for ESC3311)

1
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

Structural Geophysics Manual Practical Exercises

The 5 practical exercise cover the theoretical basis for interpreting geology from geophysics, as well as a
data providing examples of a range of structural styles and landscapes.

Structural Geophysics Practical 1-Principals

Structure

Exercise 1 Getting started with Noddy: plunging folds

Exercise 2 Refolded folds

Exercise 3 Faulting

Geophysics

Exercise 4 Plunging Folds

Exercise 5 Normal & Remanent Dykes

In order to characterise the complex three dimensional structures that often cause geophysical
anomalies it is necessary to have some understanding of the structural history of an area. The basis for
this program is the ability to construct a complex geological history as a succession of relatively simple
structural, sedimentary and igneous events. Each geological history is defined as a sequence of
kinematic events, and each event is defined by a set of orientation, position and scaling parameters.

In this model the meter is the unit of length, all planar features are defined by their dip and dip direction, all
independent linear features are defined by their plunge and plunge direction, and all linear features on
planes are defined by their pitch. The 000 direction is North, 090 is East & etc.

Noddy Program Flow

The general flow of the program Noddy consists of:

2
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

i. The definition of an initial layer cake stratigraphy

ii. The interactive development of a structural history
iii. The use of 2D and 3D visualisation tools such as maps and block diagrams.
iv. The calculation of 1D and 2D gravity and magnetic images.
v. The editing of the existing structural history and re-calculation of the anomalies to improve
the match between real and calculated structure and geophysical response.

Since this program is completely interactive, the steps may be enacted in any order as the user sees fit,
apart from the initial definition of a base stratigraphy at step 1.

Exercise 1: Modelling the geometry of plunging folds.

In this exercise we want to compare the differing surface geometry of folds with different orientations.

When you first start up Noddy you will be presented with three windows: the Toolbar, which is a small
window containing a set of icons for each deformation type, a History window, into which these
deformation events may be placed, edited and moved, and a Status Bar, at the bottom of the screen
providing status information. The contents of the History window contains the currently defined history,
and is thus blank on start up, unless a file called defaults.his is in the same directory as the executable
binary.

The complete set of icons and their meaning is shown below:

a) Defining the Base Stratigraphy

3
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013
To define the Base Stratigraphy (which must be the first step in the construction of a history, unless a

pre-existing history is read in from disk) click (left mouse button) on the Base Stratigraphy Icon: it
will then become highlighted. If you then move the cursor over the History window, a dashed square
will follow the cursor, and clicking in the History window will “drop” that icon in the window.

Placing an icon in the History window

As soon as the icon is dropped, a new window will open up which allows you to define a starting
stratigraphy for your model.

Stratigraphy Summary window

This window displays preview of the resulting block model on the left hand side, and allows you to edit
the stratigraphy on the right hand side. For this exercise we will simply accept the default values, so
you have now finished defining your stratigraphy, and can click on OK from the Stratigraphy window.

b) Defining a fold event

Suppose you want to fold this stratigraphy, first select the fold icon , by clicking on it and then
dragging it to the right of the base stratigraphy icon in the history window. This will then open up the
fold definition window, which demonstrates the standard deformation event window capabilities:

4
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

Previewing an event. By default a block diagram showing the affect of this one event on the base
stratigraphy will drawn in the preview space. You can vary the wavelength and amplitude of the folding
event, as well as it’s orientation by clicking on the icons at the top right of the Fold window and changing
the numbers you see. Note that you cannot make plunging folds as a single event in Noddy, we will
make the folds plunge by rotating them later on in this exercise. As you modify these numbers, the
preview block will update automatically. Finally click OK to save the parameters you have chosen.

b) Defining a tilt event

Suppose you want to tilt the geology, first select the Tilt Icon from the toolbar clicking on it and
then dragging it to the right or below the fold icon in the history window. This will then open up the tilt
definition window, which demonstrates the standard deformation event window capabilities. Initially the
preview will show the affect of the tilt event on the base stratigraphy (ie ignoring the previous folding).

This reads as: A base stratigraphy, followed by a fold event, followed by a tilting event, time goes from
earliest on the left to most recent on the right (and top to bottom if you stack icons vertically).

5
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

By selecting Full from the event menu at the lower-left of the preview, you can see the cumulative effect of
first folding and then tilting the originally horizontal strata.

Again you can vary the position and orientation of the rotation axis, and the amount of rotation from
within this window, finally click on the OK button.

You might like to save this history to disk now, by selecting Save History from the File menu.

c) Making 3D models

We can now view a full-resolution block model of the resulting geology by selecting Block Diagram
from the Geology Menu. To vary the viewing orientation, click-drag to rotate the block or shift-click-
drag to rescale it within the window.

QUESTION-1: Do the folds look different on the different faces of the block?

If we now right-click on the block diagram we can chose to only display certain stratigraphic horizons
within the model, by selecting Specific Layers from the Display Type window and clicking on, for
6
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013
example, the layer called Middle. This produces a block model view with only one layer visible, which
helps to better visualise its form in three dimensions.

d) Indoor Mapping

In order to make a map of the top surface of our block, we can select Map->Lines from the Geology
Menu, with line colour reflecting the stratigraphic colours we have already seen in the block diagrams.

7
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

If we click anywhere on this map it will display a symbol showing the local orientation of the bedding.

QUESTION-2: how do the bedding orientations vary across the map?

If we now select Lineation from the Symbol menu, it will display the fold axis lineation associated with
the folding (which has subsequently been rotated by the tilt event, or if we select Foliation from the
Symbol menu it will display the axial plane foliation associated with the folding

QUESTION-3: how do the fold axis orientations vary across the map?

When the map window is uppermost, we can see a lower-hemisphere stereographic projection of the
structural information by selecting Legend from the Windows menu (scroll right in the legend window
to find it!). Each time you add a new point to the map it will be plotted on the stereogram.

QUESTION-4: how do the bedding-axial plane cleavage intersection-lineation orientations vary

across the map?

To plot bedding-axial plane cleavage intersection-lineation orientations, select Bd-Cl from the Symbol
menu, and Fold from the Event 1 menu.

8
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

QUESTION-5: What is the relationship between the fold axes (blue dots) and the poles to bedding
planes (red dots)?

e) When you have finished, quit from Noddy using the File->Exit menu.

Exercise 2 Complex refolded fold patterns

This sequence duplicates the well known fold interference patterns of Ramsay (Ramsay, J.
1967, Folding and Fracturing of Rocks, MacGraw-Hill, p531.), where we will look at how bedding, fold
axes (a linear feature) and fold axial planes (a planar feature) are affected by folding.

See Theissen & Means and Theissen for a more complete scheme: Theissen & Means, Journal
of Structural Geology, 2, 311-316; Theissen, 1986, Journal of Structural Geology, 8, 563-573.

Block Model
a b

This is a type 1 pattern, and is also a form of

This is a type 1 pattern, also known as a dome
dome and basin pattern, the two fold axial planes
and basin pattern, the two fold axial planes are
are at a high angle, as are their fold axes, which
perpendicular, as are their fold axes.
are also coplanar.
h i

This is a type 2 pattern, also known as a

This is a type 3 pattern, the two fold axial planes
mushroom pattern the two fold axial planes are
are at a high angle, as are their fold axes, which
at a high angle, as are their fold axes, which are
are now perpendicular.
not now coplanar.

The history files associated with each model are named ntypea.his, ntypeb.his, ntypeh.his and
ntypei.his and show the result of two successive folding events on an originally horizontal set of layers.

9
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

a) Load each model in turn into Noddy (File->Read History, making sure to overwrite
previous histories when asked!). For each model, make a block model a map of the top
surface. On this map place sufficient bedding orientation and fold axis symbols to demonstrate
clearly the shape of these structures, such as those for Model A below. You can also plot the
intersection lineation between the two fold axial events.

Question-6: Exercise: Use these maps, and the associated stereograms to describe how the
first fold axes and axial planes are modified by the second ones.

To display:

• the two different generations of fold axes select Foliation from the Symbol menu
as well as either Fold 1 or Fold 2 from the Event 1 menu.
• the two different generations of fold axial planes, Lineation from the Symbol menu
as well as either Fold 1 or Fold 2 from the Event 1 menu.

• the intersection lineation between two fold axial planes, select Lineation from the
Symbol menu as well as Fold 1 from the Event 1 menu and Fold 2 from the Event 2
menu.

10
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

Question-7: Model this refolded fold! Provide an image of the model AND the deformation events
including their parameters required.

F1 fold axial trace

F2 fold axial trace

11
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

Exercise 3 Fault Offsets

Here will map out the variation in displacements during faulting.

a) Normal Faults. Load the history ex3_normal.his, which creates a stratigraphy cut by a fault.

QUESTION-8: What sort of fault displacement does this model show?

QUESTION-9: If we were to vertical drill a well at location X in the block diagram below, what
would the well log show?

To answer this question we will use the Geology->Borehole->Generate-Schematic menu option

which creates a well log. The well log starts off at SW corner of the map and shows a complete
stratigraphy down 3000 m from the surface (Purple-Red-Blue-Green-Brown).

12
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

If we then change the position of the collar of this well (where the borehole starts at the surface of
the model) to X=3000, Y=0, Z=0 (menu Edit->Geology Section/Borehole Options) we see a
different sequence (Beige-Purple-Red-Blue-Green). The Beige unit now appears, don’t forget the
fault has made all the rocks in the hanging wall go down, but where is the blue unit gone?

b) Reverse Faults. Load the history ex3_reverse.his, which creates a stratigraphy cut by
another fault.

QUESTION-10: What sort of fault displacement does this model show?

13
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

QUESTION-11: If we were to vertical drill a well at location X in the block diagram below, what
would the well log show?

To answer this question we will use the Geology->Borehole->Generate-Schematic menu option

which creates a well log. The well log starts off at SW corner of the map and shows a complete
stratigraphy down 3000 m from the surface (Purple-Red-Blue-Green-Brown).

If we then change the position of the collar of this well (where the borehole starts at the surface of
the model) to X=3000, Y=0, Z=0 (menu Edit->Geology Section/Borehole Options) we see a
different sequence (Red-Blue-Green-Brown-Green-Brown). The Purple unit is missing because the
fault has moved the rocks up.

14
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

Exercise 4 Plunging folds

In this exercise we see how we can use potential field data to determine the nature of plunging
folds. The geophysical survey is set up to be at the magnetic pole.

a) Load a model with three layers, the middle of which is only 200m thick, and which has
significantly higher density and susceptibility than the other two layers (ex4.his).

b) Fold the geology and rotate the layers so that the layers are all vertical, and then calculate the
potential fields:

QUESTION-12: What do the North-South profiles of these folds look like? Now change the tilt
so that the folds are plunging to the south and recalculate the potential fields:

15
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

QUESTION-13: What do the North-South profiles of these folds look like, and why?

16
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

QUESTION-14: In this magnetic image, which way do these folds plunge?

QUESTION-15: This image shows a magnetic image overlain by a gamma ray image (this
highlights variations in Potassium (Red), Thorium (Green) and Uranium (Blue), and reflects
lithology)? Interpret this image, and then model it in Noddy. Hint you will need three sets of folds to
do this! Don’t worry about getting the geometries exactly right, just get the general idea of the fold
geometries. Provide the deformation history including structural parameters and images of the model.

17
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

Exercise 5 Remanent Dykes

In this last exercise we will compare normally and remanently magnetised mafic dykes. When dykes
cool below the Curie Point, they record the orientation of the Earth’s magnetic field as a remanent
magnetisation. Over time, due to plate tectonics or due to a switch in the polarity of the Earth’s field,
the remanent vector recorded in the dykes may reach a high angle relative today’s Earth’s field.
When this happens the magnetic anomaly associated with the dyke may look very different than at
predicted if we didn’t take the remanent component into account.

a) Load the model ex5.his, which creates a simple dyke with in a uniform background, and then
calculate the magnetic anomaly associated with this model.

70
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

As you would expect for a model created at an Earth’s Inclination of 67°, you get a strong positive
anomaly with a dipole effect.

b) Now edit the rock properties of the dyke, and turn on Remanence, and set the Declination to
O°, the inclination to -30° and the intensity to 1000, and then recalculate the magnetic field.

Now we get a dipole effect, however the anomaly shows a strong negative peak. This is because
we defined an remanent vector which exactly opposed the direction of the Earth’s Field.

70
 WAXI Structural Geophysics Manual 2013

QUESTION-16: In this magnetic image, there are three sets of dykes (which often show this
en echelon geometry). Label the dyke set which shows negative remnant magnetisation.

70