The joint sets on the Lilstock Benches, UK. Observations based on mapping a full resolution UAV-based image

2021

Outcrop studies of fracture networks are important to understand fractured reservoirs in the subsurface, but complete maps of all fractures in large outcrops are rare due to limitations of outcrop and image resolution. We manually mapped the first full-resolution UAV-based, Gigapixel dataset and DEM of the wave-cut Lilstock Benches in the southern Bristol Channel basin, a classic outcrop of layer-bound fracture networks in limestones. We present a map of the patterns and age relationships of successive sets of joints in dm-thick limestone layers separated by claystone beds. Using interpretation criteria based on crosscutting relationships, abutting and joint length, up to eight successive s…