Prospects of Geoinformatics in Analyzing Spatial Heterogeneities of Microstructural Properties of a Tectonic Fault
Source abstract
Abstract
The paper proposes a special technique for microstructural analysis (STMA) of rock samples based on two provisions. The first one is an algorithm for the automatic detection and digitalization of microstructures in images of oriented thin sections. The second one utilizes geographic information system (GIS) tools for an automatized analysis of objects at the micro scale. Using STMA allows the establishment of geometric features of fissure and pore space of rock samples to determine the parameters of stress–strain fields at different stages of rock massif deformation and to establish a relationship between microstructures and macrostructures. STMA makes it possible to evaluate the spatial heterogeneity of physical and structural properties of rocks at the micro scale. Verification of STMA was carried out using 15 rock samples collected across the core of the Primorsky Fault of the Baikal Rift Zone. Petrographic data were compared to the quantitative parameters of microfracture networks. The damage zone of the Primorsky Fault includes three clusters characterized by different porosity, permeability, and deformation type. Findings point to the efficiency of STMA in revealing the spatial heterogeneity of a tectonic fault.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping · Mineral Processing and Grinding · Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017 Moscow, Russia
Sadovsky Institute for Dynamics of Geospheres of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119334 Moscow, Russia
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 141701 Dolgoprudny, Russia
Funding
Russian Science Foundation
References (100+)
Show source-provided references
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