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Digitising Svalbard’s Geology: the Festningen Digital Outcrop Model
... These DOMs are georeferenced highresolution 3D representations of the outcrops and facilitate quantitative sedimentological and structural work. Through Svalbox the DOMs are also put in a regional context through spatial integration of maps (geological, topographical, paleogeographic, geophysical etc.), surface (digital terrain models, satellite imagery etc.) and subsurface (boreholes, geophysical profiles, published cross-sections etc.) data, as illustrated for the Festningen geotope by Senger et al. (2022). ...
... At Festningen, the students were able to visit and describe the main stratigraphic intervals and discuss correlations to the Barents Shelf and other Arctic basins. The entire section has been digitalized as a high-resolution DOM and integrated with geoscientific surface and subsurface data (Senger et al., 2022), which the students actively use in both preparing field stop preparations and post-field work analyses. ...
Geologically, the Arctic is one of the least explored regions of Earth. Its significance, in terms of indigenous populations, resource extraction, tourism, shipping and a rapidly changing climate, is increasing. The Arctic offers geological diversity encompassing onshore and offshore environments, include active subduction zones in Alaska, deep sedimentary basins on the Siberian and Barents Sea shelves, widespread ancient Arctic volcanism and magmatism, the world’s slowest spreading mid-ocean ridge (Gakkel Ridge in the Eurasia Basin), as well as world-class examples of extensional and compressional basins exposed onshore Svalbard. Obtaining data is logistically, economically and environmentally expensive in the high Arctic, but the township of Longyearbyen at 78° N represents a relatively easily accessible gateway to Arctic geology. The year-round settlement on Spitsbergen, the main island of the Svalbard archipelago is home to The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). Reached by a year-round airport with regular connections to mainland Norway, Svalbard provides a foundation from which to teach and explore Arctic geology via the classroom, the laboratory, and the field. In this contribution, we present a new graduate course (Masters and PhD level) on Arctic Tectonics and Volcanism that we have established and taught annually at UNIS since 2018. We outline the course itself, before presenting student perspectives based on both an anonymous questionnaire (n = 27) and in-depth perceptions of four selected students. The course, with an intake of up to 20 MSc and PhD international students, is held over a 6-week period, typically in Spring or Autumn. The course comprises modules on field and polar safety, Svalbard/Barents Sea geology, wider Arctic geology, plate tectonics, mantle dynamics, geo- and thermochronology, and geochemistry of igneous systems. All modules include individual and group-based exercises in addition to introductory lectures. A field component, which in some years included an overnight expedition, provides an opportunity to appreciate Arctic geology and gather own field observations and data. Digital outcrop models and photospheres viewed with state-of-the-art visualization in the classroom facilitate efficient fieldwork through pre-fieldwork preparation and post-field work quantitative analyses. The course assessment is centered on an individual research project that is presented orally and in a short and impactful Geology journal-style article. Apart from the course at UNIS we have jointly initiated several one-off research and education-based events at partner institutions, and briefly outline these.
... Despite the widespread use of DOMs for geoscientific applications (Marques Jr. et al., 2020), its use is still dominant as an isolated tool for specific visualizations and interpretations. Only a few papers present methodologies focused on DOMs and data integration, as we done here (Hodgetts et al., 2004;Lapponi et al., 2011;Usman et al., 2021;Senger et al., 2022). For example, Senger et al. (2022) focus on using DOMs and complementary geological data for educational purposes. ...
... Only a few papers present methodologies focused on DOMs and data integration, as we done here (Hodgetts et al., 2004;Lapponi et al., 2011;Usman et al., 2021;Senger et al., 2022). For example, Senger et al. (2022) focus on using DOMs and complementary geological data for educational purposes. In addition, Hodgetts et al. (2004), Lapponi et al. (2011) andUsman et al. (2021) present similar industry-driven approaches, using commercial softwares (VRGS™, RMS™and Petrel™) to interpret, integrate and derive models from industry standard data types in oilfield-scale problems. ...
Digital Outcrop Models (DOMs) are virtual representations of geological features. Although DOMs are widely used tools in geosciences, their integration with other datasets remains relatively underexplored. We combined a DOM, derived from a photogrammetric survey of a carbonate sequence, with lithostratigraphic, petrophysical (porosity, permeability and uniaxial compressive strength), fracture distribution, and karst dissolution information to compose a single integrated three-dimensional digital model. The study site is one of the entrances of the Cristal Cave (S˜ao Francisco Craton, Northeastern Brazil), which has been used as a structural and diagenetic outcrop analog for the Brazilian pre-salt carbonate reservoirs. Data from fracture distributions, measured on the exposed surfaces of the cave, were used to build a Discrete Fracture Network, based on the solution of the stereology inverse problem. Fracture apertures were then modified to generate different scenarios of karstification, thus composing Discrete Fracture and Karst Networks. This integrative approach brought relevant insights into the cave development due to dissolution along fracture clusters. Our methodology offers better geological data handling to build static models to be used in a fluid flow modeling environment, contributing to bridge the gap between geophysics/geology and engineering approaches.
Geologically, the Arctic is one of the least-explored regions of Earth. Obtaining data in the high Arctic is logistically, economically, and environmentally expensive, but the township of Longyearbyen (population of 2617 as of 2024) at 78° N represents a relatively easily accessible gateway to Arctic geology and is home to The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). These unique factors provide a foundation from which to teach and explore Arctic geology via the classroom, the laboratory, and the field. UNIS was founded in 1993 as the Norwegian “field university”, offering field-based courses in Arctic geology, geophysics, biology, and technology to students from Norway and abroad.
In this contribution, we present one of the educational components of the international collaboration project NOR-R-AM (a Norwegian-Russian-North American collaboration in Arctic research and collaboration, titled Changes at the Top of the World through Volcanism and Plate Tectonics) which ran from 2017 to 2024. One of the key deliverables of NOR-R-AM was a new graduate (Master's and PhD-level) course called Arctic Tectonics and Volcanism that we have established and taught annually at UNIS since 2018 and detail herein. The course's main objective is to teach the complex geological evolution of the Arctic from the Devonian period (∼ 420 million years ago, Ma) to the present day through integrating multi-scale datasets and a broad range of geoscientific disciplines. We outline the course itself before presenting student perspectives based on both an anonymous questionnaire (n=27) and in-depth perceptions of four selected students. The course, with an annual intake of up to 20 MSc and PhD students, is held over a 6-week period, typically in spring or autumn. The course comprises modules on field and polar safety, Svalbard/Barents Sea geology, wider Arctic geology, plate tectonics, mantle dynamics, geo- and thermochronology, and geochemistry of igneous systems. A field component, which in some years included an overnight expedition, provides an opportunity to appreciate Arctic geology and gather field observations and data. Digital outcrop models, photospheres, and tectonic plate reconstructions provide complementary state-of-the-art data visualization tools in the classroom and facilitate efficient fieldwork through pre-fieldwork preparation and post-fieldwork quantitative analyses. The course assessment is centred around an individual research project that is presented orally and in a short and impactful Geology journal-style article. Considering the complex subject and the diversity of students' backgrounds and level of geological knowledge before the course, the student experiences during this course demonstrate that the multi-disciplinary, multi-lecturer field-and-classroom teaching is efficient and increases their motivation to explore Arctic science.
Mapping sedimentary features to delineate ancient ocean gateways from 3D seismic data has long been a challenge due to their limited vertical resolution. We present the technique of color processing of seismic data which improves the vertical resolution to very few seismic samples corresponding to 5–10 m. The result is a representation of the seismic impedance contrast correlation in Red-Green-Blue (RGB) colors, which creates images similar to satellite images that assist the geological interpretation because the RGB colors can be associated with mud-rich and sand-rich sediments.
Using this approach, we have extracted six different sedimentary bedforms from different bottom flow settings and correlated these with the bedform-velocity matrix by Stow et al. (2009). Then we studied bedform assemblies in their regional context for the area covered by the 3D seismic data set. We conclude with comparing a modern and an ancient analogue – both from 3D seismic data – and infer paleo flow direction and velocity using oceanographic measurements available for the modern analogue.
The method provides insights into ocean bottom currents and their impact on the formation of contourite depositional systems in modern and ancient ocean gateways which contribute to the reconstruction of the paleoclimate as an input to present day climate change models.
The Longyearbyen CO2 lab project was initiated in 2006 by the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) to establish whether subsurface storage of locally produced CO2 is feasible. Over a decade of drilling operations and geoscientific research concluded that the subsurface was suitable for storing the CO2 generated from the local power plant. The geological ingredients for successful CO2 storage are in place, comprising a ca. 300 m thick, sandstone-dominated reservoir rock capped by an impermeable mudstone-dominated succession. No CO2 was ever injected for storage in Svalbard for economic and political reasons. However, the project generated a wealth of new data, some of which proved critical for studies related to CO2 storage elsewhere. The data were also key to the characterization of fluid flow and geothermal potential in Svalbard, deciphering past climatic changes, unravelling past tectonic events, some of relevance for understanding the plate tectonic evolution of the Arctic, as well as updating the global geological timescale. In this contribution, we briefly outline the history and main achievements of the Longyearbyen CO2 lab project, before describing, categorizing and openly sharing the publicly available data from the project, including peer-reviewed publications (123 so far) and theses (18 PhD and 34 MSc).
We held the MagellanPlus workshop SVALCLIME “Deep-time Arctic climate archives: high-resolution coring of Svalbard's sedimentary record”, from 18 to 21 October 2022 in Longyearbyen, to discuss scientific drilling of the unique high-resolution climate archives of Neoproterozoic to Paleogene age present in the sedimentary record of Svalbard. Svalbard is globally unique in that it facilitates scientific coring across multiple stratigraphic intervals within a relatively small area. The polar location of Svalbard for some of the Mesozoic and the entire Cenozoic makes sites in Svalbard highly complementary to the more easily accessible mid-latitude sites, allowing for investigation of the polar amplification effect over geological time. The workshop focused on how understanding the geological history of Svalbard can improve our ability to predict future environmental changes, especially at higher latitudes. This topic is highly relevant for the ICDP 2020–2030 Science Plan Theme 4 “Environmental Change” and Theme 1 “Geodynamic Processes”. We concluded that systematic coring of selected Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleogene age sediments in the Arctic should provide important new constraints on deep-time climate change events and the evolution of Earth's hydrosphere–atmosphere–biosphere system. We developed a scientific plan to address three main objectives through scientific onshore drilling on Svalbard: a. Investigate the coevolution of life and repeated icehouse–greenhouse climate transitions, likely forced by orbital variations, by coring Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic glacial and interglacial intervals in the Cryogenian (“Snowball/Slushball Earth”) and late Carboniferous to early Permian time periods.b. Assess the impact of Mesozoic Large Igneous Province emplacement on rapid climate change and mass extinctions, including the end-Permian mass extinction, the end-Triassic mass extinction, the Jenkyns Event (Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event), the Jurassic Volgian Carbon Isotopic Excursion and the Cretaceous Weissert Event and Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a.c. Examine the early Eocene hothouse and subsequent transition to a coolhouse world in the Oligocene by coring Paleogene sediments, including records of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2, and the Eocene–Oligocene transition. The SVALCLIME science team created plans for a 3-year drilling programme using two platforms: (1) a lightweight coring system for holes of ∼ 100 m length (4–6 sites) and (2) a larger platform that can drill deep holes of up to ∼ 2 km (1–2 sites). In situ wireline log data and fluid samples will be collected in the holes, and core description and sampling will take place at The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) in Longyearbyen. The results from the proposed scientific drilling will be integrated with existing industry and scientific boreholes to establish an almost continuous succession of geological environmental data spanning the Phanerozoic. The results will significantly advance our understanding of how the interplay of internal and external Earth processes are linked with global climate change dynamics, the evolution of life, and mass extinctions.
Digital outcrop models (DOMs) have revolutionized the way twenty-first century geoscientists work. DOMs are georeferenced three-dimensional (3-D) digital representations of outcrops that facilitate quantitative work on outcrops at various scales. Outcrop digitalization has been traditionally conducted using laser scanners, but in the past decade, it has seen an exponential growth because of efficient and consumer-friendly structure-from-motion (SfM) algorithms concurrent with the rapid development of cost-effective aerial drones with high-resolution onboard cameras. While DOMs are routinely used in geoscientific research, education, and industry, enhanced DOM usage is restricted because raw data (e.g., photographs) and metadata are often incomplete and/or unavailable. In this contribution, we present the Svalbox Digital Model Database (Svalbox DMDb), a database of metadata and openly available data packages for individual DOMs. The Svalbox DMDb is a regional DOM database geographically constrained to the Norwegian High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard at 74°N–81°N and 10°E–35°E. Svalbard offers exceptional-quality, vegetation-free outcrops with a wide range of lithologies and tectono-magmatic styles, including extension, compression, and magmatism. Data and metadata of the systematically digitalized outcrops across Svalbard are shared according to FAIR principles through the Svalbox DMDb. Fully open-access and downloadable DOMs include not just the DOMs themselves, but also the input data, processing reports and projects, and other data products such as footprints and orthomosaics. Rich metadata for each DOM include both the technical and geological parameters (metadata), enabling visualization and integration with regional geoscientific data available through the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Svalbox online portal. The current release of Svalbox DMDb, documented in this contribution, covers 135 DOMs cumulatively covering 114 km2 of Proterozoic to Cenozoic stratigraphy.
The discipline of structural geology is taking an advantage of compiling observations from multiple field sites to comprehend the bigger picture and constrain the region's geological evolution. In this study we demonstrate how integration of a range of geospatial digital data sets that relate to the Paleogene fault and thrust belt exposed in the high Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard, is used in teaching in bachelor-level courses at the University Centre in Svalbard. This event led to the formation of the West Spitsbergen Fold and Thrust Belt and its associated foreland basin, the Central Spitsbergen Basin. Our digital educational data package builds on published literature from the past four decades augmented with recently acquired high-resolution digital outcrop models, and 360° imagery. All data are available as georeferenced data containers and included in a single geodatabase, freely available for educators and geoscientists around the world to complement their research and fieldwork with course components from Svalbard.
Traditionally, topographic surveying in earth sciences requires high financial investments, elaborate logistics, complicated training of staff and extensive data processing. Recently, off-the-shelf drones with optical sensors already reduced the costs for obtaining a high-resolution dataset of an Earth surface considerably. Nevertheless, costs and complexity associated with topographic surveying are still high. In 2020, Apple Inc. released the iPad Pro 2020 and the iPhone 12 Pro with novel build-in LiDAR sensors. Here we investigate the basic technical capabilities of the LiDAR sensors and we test the application at a coastal cliff in Denmark. The results are compared to state-of-the-art Structure from Motion Multi-View Stereo (SfM MVS) point clouds. The LiDAR sensors create accurate high-resolution models of small objects with a side length > 10 cm with an absolute accuracy of ± 1 cm. 3D models with the dimensions of up to 130 × 15 × 10 m of a coastal cliff with an absolute accuracy of ± 10 cm are compiled. Overall, the versatility in handling outweighs the range limitations, making the Apple LiDAR devices cost-effective alternatives to established techniques in remote sensing with possible fields of application for a wide range of geo-scientific areas and teaching.
The Covid-19 pandemic occurred at a time of major revolution in the geosciences – the era of digital geology. Digital outcrop models (DOMs) acquired from consumer drones, processed using user-friendly photogrammetric software and shared with the wider audience through online platforms are a cornerstone of this digital geological revolution. Integration of DOMs with other geoscientific data, such as geological maps, satellite imagery, terrain models, geophysical data and field observations, strengthens their application in both research and education. Teaching geology with digital tools advances students' learning experience by providing access to high-quality outcrops, enhancing visualization of 3D geological structures and improving data integration. Similarly, active use of DOMs to integrate new field observations will facilitate more effective fieldwork and quantitative research. From a student's perspective, georeferenced and scaled DOMs allow for an improved appreciation of scale and of 3D architecture, which is a major threshold concept in geoscientific education.
DOMs allow us to bring geoscientists to the outcrops digitally, which is particularly important in view of the Covid-19 pandemic that restricts travel and thus direct access to outcrops. At the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), located at 78∘ N in Longyearbyen in Arctic Norway, DOMs are actively used even in non-pandemic years, as the summer field season is short and not overlapping with the Bachelor “Arctic Geology” course package held from January to June each year. In 2017, we at UNIS developed a new course (AG222 “Integrated Geological Methods: From Outcrop To Geomodel”) to encourage the use of emerging techniques like DOMs and data integration to solve authentic geoscientific challenges. In parallel, we have established the open-access Svalbox geoscientific portal, which forms the backbone of the AG222 course activities and provides easy access to a growing number of DOMs, 360∘ imagery, subsurface data and published geoscientific data from Svalbard. Considering the rapid onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Svalbox portal and the pre-Covid work on digital techniques in AG222 allowed us to rapidly adapt and fulfil at least some of the students' learning objectives during the pandemic. In this contribution, we provide an overview of the course development and share experiences from running the AG222 course and the Svalbox platform, both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Oxygen deprivation and hydrogen sulfide toxicity are considered potent kill mechanisms during the mass extinction just before the Permian–Triassic boundary (~251.9 million years ago). However, the mechanism that drove vast stretches of the ocean to an anoxic state is unclear. Here, we present palaeoredox and phosphorus speciation data for a marine bathymetric transect from Svalbard. This shows that, before the extinction, enhanced weathering driven by Siberian Traps volcanism increased the influx of phosphorus, thus enhancing marine primary productivity and oxygen depletion in proximal shelf settings. However, this non-sulfidic state efficiently sequestered phosphorus in the sediment in association with iron minerals, thus restricting the intensity and spatial extent of oxygen-depleted waters. The collapse of vegetation on land immediately before the marine extinction changed the relative weathering influx of iron and sulfate. The resulting transition to euxinic (sulfidic) conditions led to enhanced remobilization of bioavailable phosphorus, initiating a feedback that caused the spread of anoxic waters across large portions of the shelf. This reconciles a lag of >0.3 million years between the onset of enhanced weathering and the development of widespread, but geographically variable, ocean anoxia, with major implications for extinction selectivity.
The beginning of the Norwegian oil industry is often attributed to the first exploration drilling in the North Sea in 1966, the first discovery in 1967 and the discovery of the supergiant Ekofisk field in 1969. However, petroleum exploration already started onshore Svalbard in 1960 with three mapping groups from Caltex and exploration efforts by the Dutch company Bataaffse (Shell) and the Norwegian private company Norsk Polar Navigasjon AS (NPN). NPN was the first company to spud a well at Kvadehuken near Ny-Ålesund in 1961. This drilling marked the start of an exciting period of petroleum exploration in Svalbard, with eighteen exploration wells drilled in the period from 1961 to 1994. The deepest well so far, Caltex's Ishøgda-I near Van Mijenfjorden, reached 3304 m in 1966. NPN was involved in nine of the eighteen wells. The remaining wells were drilled by American (Caltex/Amoseas), Belgian (Fina), French (Total), Soviet/Russian (Trust Arktikugol), Swedish (Polargas Prospektering) and Norwegian companies Norsk Hydro and Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani. None of the wells resulted in commercial discoveries, though several wells encountered gas in measureable quantities. Only the two wells drilled in the early 1990s were drilled on structures defined using a sparse 2D seismic grid, while the other wells were drilled based on geological mapping at the surface. Furthermore, more recent research and coal exploration boreholes have confirmed moveable hydrocarbons in close proximity to the Longyearbyen and Pyramiden settlements. In this contribution, we present a historical and brief geological overview of the petroleum exploration wells onshore Svalbard. We illustrate that the eighteen petroleum exploration wells have together penetrated over 29 km of stratigraphy, with the Late Palaeozoic-Mesozoic successions particularly well covered. Coal exploration and research boreholes primarily focus on the Mesozoic-Cenozoic successions. As such, the boreholes represent an important window to decipher the stratigraphic evolution of both Svalbard and the greater Barents Shelf.
The Lower Cretaceous succession in Svalbard is commonly considered as an important analogue to age-equivalent strata on the Barents Shelf which are sporadically targeted by exploration wells. In this study, the stratigraphic and genetic relationship between the Rurikfjellet (open marine), Helvetiafjellet (paralic) and Carolinefjellet (open marine) formations of the Lower Cretaceous succession in Svalbard is evaluated by combining sedimentological outcrop studies with well log and core data across Nordenskiöld Land, central Spitsbergen. Sedimentological characteristics and stratigraphic units are mapped within a refined dinocyst biostratigraphic framework, enabling relatively well-constrained palaeogeographic reconstructions. The Valanginian-lowermost Barremian Rurikfjellet Formation consists of a lower shale-dominated unit of offshore origin which grades upwards into storm-reworked lower shoreface sandstones displaying hummocky cross-stratification. Local occurrences of prodeltaic successions and thick successions of gravity flow deposits containing coal-bearing slump blocks of delta plain origin in some wells, reveal a late Hauterivian progradational pulse which has previously not been recorded in Svalbard. The lower Barremian-lower Aptian Helvetiafjellet Formation consists of fluvial braidplain and paralic deposits which rest unconformably on the Rurikfjellet Formation across the entire study area, reflecting regional uplift and widespread subaerial exposure prior to the onset of paralic deposition. The Helvetiafjellet Formation exhibits increased marine influence upwards, and in the investigated cores the uppermost part of the unit consists of wave-reworked mouth-bar deposits which are truncated by a transgressive conglomerate lag dominated by extrabasinal lithic clasts and intraformational siderite clasts. An up to 10 m-thick, regionally extensive, organic-rich (TOC up to 2.1 wt.%) shale unit of early Aptian age marks the base of the overlying Carolinefjellet Formation. The shale accumulated during a regional flooding event which drowned and eventually transformed the Helvetiafjellet Formation coastal plain into a shallow shelf. The organic facies of the shale unit (Type II-III kerogen) and a high Pr/Ph ratio (>2), in combination with abundant long-chained n-alkanes, suggest that the unit was deposited in a suboxic paralic marine environment strongly influenced by input of terrestrial organic matter. The investigated succession exhibits stratigraphic and petrographic resemblance to age-equivalent strata in NE Greenland, suggesting that these successions may have formed part of the same drainage system located on the northwestern margin of the Barents Shelf. Thus, by highlighting the Early Cretaceous palaeogeographic evolution in Svalbard, this study contributes to the regional stratigraphic understanding of the Lower Cretaceous succession on the wider northern Barents Shelf.
The use of three-dimensional (3-D), photo-textured representations of topography from laser scanning and photogrammetry is becoming increasingly common across the geosciences. This rapid adoption is driven by recent innovations in acquisition hardware, software automation, and sensor platforms, including unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition, fusion of surface geometry with imaging sensors, such as multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal, and ground-based radar, and geophysical methods creates complex and visual data sets that provide a fundamental spatial framework to address open geoscience research questions. Despite the current ease of acquiring and processing 3-D photo-textured models, the accessibility of tools for analyzing and presenting data remains problematic, characterized by steep learning curves and custom solutions for individual geoscience applications. Interpretation and measurement is essential for quantitative analysis of 3-D data sets, and qualitative methods are valuable for presentation purposes, for planning, and in education. This contribution presents LIME, a lightweight and high-performance 3-D software for interpreting and co-visualizing 3-D models and related image data. The software allows measurement and interpretation via digitizing in the 3-D scene. In addition, it features novel data integration and visualization of 3-D topography with image sources such as logs and interpretation panels, supplementary wavelength imagery, geophysical data sets, and georeferenced maps and images. High-quality visual output can be generated for dissemination to aid researchers with communication of their results. The motivation and an overview of the software are described, illustrated by example usage scenarios from outcrop geology, multi-sensor data fusion, and geophysical-geospatial data integration.
On Svalbard (Arctic Norway), a pilot-scale research project has been established to investigate the feasibility of storing locally produced CO 2 in geological aquifers onshore. Drilling, geophysical and geological data acquisition and water-injection tests confirm the injectivity and storage capacity of the naturally fractured and compartmentalised siliciclastic storage unit that is located at c. 670-1000 m depth below the proposed injection site in Adventdalen, Central Spitsbergen. Excellent outcrops of the reservoir-caprock units 15 km from the planned injection site allow for detailed sedimentological and structural studies, and complement 2D seismic data acquired onshore and offshore. In this contribution, we focus on small-scale (metre-scale displacement) normal faults present in both reservoir and caprock to quantify their seismic detectability. We generate synthetic seismic sections of structural models based on high-resolution virtual outcrop models populated with elastic parameters from wireline log data. We address a number of geological scenarios, focusing on CO 2 migration within the compartmentalised reservoir, its baffling by normal fault zones and migration of CO 2 along a hypothetical fault in the caprock. Our results indicate that while the small-scale faults are unlikely to be imaged on conventional 2D seismic data, the fluid effect associated with CO 2 migration along the fault zone will generate considerable reflectivity contrasts and should result in good definition of the extent of the CO 2 plume even in such structurally confined settings.
Analogues, especially outcrop analogues, have played a central role in improving understanding of subsurface reservoir architectures. Analogues provide important information on geobody size, geometry and potential connectivity. The historical application of outcrop analogues for understanding geobody distributions in reservoirs is reviewed, from the pioneering work of the 1960s to the high-tech virtual outcrop methodologies of today. Four key types of analogue data are identified: hard data, which describe the dimensions and geometry of the geobody; soft data, which describe the conceptual relationships between different geobody types; training images, which record the dimensions, proportions and spatial relationship; and analogue production data, which are taken from direct subsurface production analogues. The use of these different data types at different stages of the geomodelling workflow is discussed and the potential sources of error considered. Finally, a review of geobody and analogue studies in different clastic environments is discussed with reference to selected previous work and the range of papers in the current volume.
A new discovery of ornithopod dinosaur tracks from Svalbard is described. The Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) section at Isfjorden consists of sandstones and interbeds consistent with an alluvial flood plane. The newly discovered tracks are situated on two different horizons stratigraphi-cally below the original horizon found in 1960. Footprint evidence from Festningen and Kvalvågen suggests that during the Early Cretaceous there was a diverse dinosaur fauna on Svalbard and that both theropods and ornithopods were present at the time.
The high Arctic is a remote place, where geoscientific research and teaching require expensive and logistically demanding expeditions to make use of the short field seasons. The absence of vegetation facilitates the use of modern photogrammetric techniques for the cost-effective generation of high-resolution digital outcrop models (DOMs). These georeferenced models can be used in pre-fieldwork activities to help prepare for traditional geological fieldwork, during fieldwork to record observations, and post-fieldwork to conduct quantitative geological analyses. Analyses of DOMs range in scale from mm-cm (e.g., size and spacing of dinosaur footprints), to hundreds of meters (e.g., seismic modeling of outcrops and outcrop-well-seismic correlations) and can advance research objectives. This integration is strengthened if key geoscientific data, like geological and topographical maps, subsurface profiles, borehole data, remote sensing data, geophysical data and DOMs can be integrated through a common database, such as the Svalbox database that we present in this commentary. Svalbox geographically targets the Svalbard archipelago, where fieldwork is challenging due to the harsh polar environment, risk of polar bear encounters and demanding transport to the field area. The University Centre in Svalbard nonetheless relies on utilizing the natural Svalbard environment for its field-based education, and now makes use of Svalbox to make geological fieldwork more efficient and post-fieldwork analyses more quantitative. Experience and usage of such tools in geoscientific education, particularly in the polar regions, is not well documented. Therefore, we share experiences on both developing and optimizing Svalbox, and on student and lecturer usage. Svalbox includes a web-based interface through which DOMs are shared and displayed together with relevant public-domain geoscientific data sets. Svalbox also serves as a platform to share student and teacher experiences on the entire DOM workflow, from acquisition to data distribution. For the Svalbox users questioned by the project group, DOMs were found to provide many benefits, including quantitative analyses, extended field season, appreciation of scale and data sharing that significantly outweigh present-day challenges, such as the need for expensive hardware and lack of easily accessible interpretation software, the latter being surmountable within the near-term.
The study of outcrop analogues of petroleum reservoirs is well established in the petroleum industry through the use of digital outcrop models (DOMs). These models, which are also known as virtual outcrop models (VOMs) or 3D outcrops, are of great importance for understanding the behavior of actual reservoirs. This topic has been reviewed by many authors, and the studies vary in detail according to the technologies involved. The present study applies systematic review methodology traversing a number of articles to find the trends in studies utilizing DOMs. The articles included in this review indicate that the technologies used to generate DOMs are still predominantly classified as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and digital photogrammetry, with the first being present in most of the works, and the latter attracting attention owing to the popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These studies have attracted a significant amount of attention to outcrop analysis, and the information acquired can be used to better fit reservoir simulations. Furthermore, a trend is identified with a focus on outcrop geometry and structural data. This work also discusses some of the available opportunities related to the generation of DOMs as well as emerging technologies that can improve the quality of the outcrop models in order to provide better reservoir simulations. Finally, this work discusses the findings and highlights of the articles answering the initially raised research questions.
Automating geoscience analysis
Solid Earth geoscience is a field that has very large set of observations, which are ideal for analysis with machine-learning methods. Bergen et al. review how these methods can be applied to solid Earth datasets. Adopting machine-learning techniques is important for extracting information and for understanding the increasing amount of complex data collected in the geosciences.
Science , this issue p. eaau0323
Palaeogeographic and tectono-stratigraphic considerations in the greater Barents Sea show that the distribution of reservoirs and hydrocarbon source rocks from the Late Palaeozoic to the Palaeogene can be related to three tectonic phases. Firstly, the Palaeozoic Caledonain Orogeny caused uplift to the west, followed by eastward sediment distribution across the shelf, towards carbonate platforms to the east. Secondly the Late Palaeozoic-Mesozoic Uralide Orogeny induced uplift to the east, causing widespread clastic deposition and reversal of the sediment distribution pattern. Thirdly, major Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic rifting and crustal breakup in the western Barents Sea led to the current basin configuration. Reservoir rocks comprise Late Palaeozoic carbonates and spiculites, Mesozoic terrestrial and marine sandstones and Palaeogene deep-water sandstones. Hydrocarbon source rocks range in age from Silurian to Early Cretaceous, and are grouped into three petroleum systems derived from Late Palaeozoic, Triassic and Late Jurassic source rocks. Multiple tectonic episodes caused formation of a variety of trap types, of which extensional fault blocks and gently folded domes have been the most prospective. Volumetric considerations of generated petroleum indicate that charging is not a limiting factor, except in the western margin.
Terrestrial laser scanning, or lidar, is a recent innovation in spatial information data acquisition, which allows geological outcrops to be digitally captured with unprecedented resolution and accuracy. With point precisions and spacing of the order of a few centimetres, an enhanced quantitative element can now be added to geological fieldwork and analysis, opening up new lines of investigation at a variety of scales in all areas of field-based geology. Integration with metric imagery allows 3D photorealistic models to be created for interpretation, visualization and education. However, gaining meaningful results from lidar scans requires more than simply acquiring raw point data. Surveys require planning and, typically, a large amount of post-processing time. The contribution of this paper is to provide a more detailed insight into the technology, data collection and utilization techniques than is currently available. The paper focuses on the workflow for using lidar data, from the choice of field area and survey planning, to acquiring and processing data and, finally, extracting geologically useful data. Because manufacturer specifications for point precision are often optimistic - when applied to real-world outcrops, the error sources associated with lidar data, and the implications of them propagating through the processing chain, are also discussed.
The status of seismic exploration work mapping the post-Caledonian strata in the Svalbard area is presented. Compressional wave velocities are very high throughout the area, around 4km/s in the Tertiary and Mesozoic layers. In the Permian section velocities exceed 5 km/s, with refraction velocities > 6 km/s in the calcareous rocks of the Gipsdalen Group (early Permian/Late Carboniferous). Apart from correlation with carbonate and chert lithology, high velocities reflect the high degree of consolidation and the low porosities of shales and sandstones in the post-Caledonian strata in Svalbard. In van Mijenfjorden seismic reflection events are observed down to 3–4 km depth and associated with Carboniferous and younger strata. The thickness of the Mesozoic layers in this part of the central Spitsbergen syncline seems to be greater than previously suggested, and there is an apparent eastward divergence between the Jurassic and the Triassic reflectors. In south-western Storfjorden, reflections interpreted to originate from Carboniferous and Permian strata might represent the seaward extension of the central Spitsbergen syncline. In the northern part of Storfjorden, carbonate layers within the Gipsdalen Group are interpreted to lie about one kilometre below the sea floor. A prominent fault zone in this area trends NNW-SSE, like the main structural elements on Spitsbergen. It shows block-faulting, presumably caused by extensional movement in late Devonian-Carboniferous time.
- P Betlem
- K Senger
Betlem, P. and Senger, K. [2022] Svalbox-DOM_2020-0001_Festningen
[Data set]. https://doi.org/10.11582/2022.00006.
Fracture characterization in Upper Permian carbonates in Spitsbergen: A workflow from digital outcrop to geo-model. Marine and Petroleum Geology
- K Larssen
- K Senger
- S.-A Grundvåg
Larssen, K., Senger, K. and Grundvåg, S.-A. [2020]. Fracture characterization in Upper Permian carbonates in Spitsbergen: A workflow from
digital outcrop to geo-model. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 122,
104703, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2020.104703.
Machine learning in geosciences and remote sensing
- D J Lary
- A H Alavi
- A H Gandomi
- A L Walker
Lary, D.J., Alavi, A.H., Gandomi, A.H. and Walker, A.L. [2016].Machine
learning in geosciences and remote sensing. Geoscience Frontiers,
7(1), 3-10, doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2015.07.003.
300-million-year journey through shoreline exposures of the Carboniferous and Mesozoic in 7 kilometers
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Festningen -A 300-million-year
journey through shoreline exposures of the Carboniferous and
Mesozoic in 7 kilometers. 36, https://geologi.no/faglitteratur-boker/
geologiske-guider/file/224-geological-guides-2020.
Depositional and diagenetic environments of the Triassic and Lower Jurassic succession of Svalbard
- A Mørk
- R Knarud
- D Worsley
Mørk, A., Knarud, R. and Worsley, D. [1982]. Depositional and diagenetic environments of the Triassic and Lower Jurassic succession of
Svalbard. Arctic geology and geophysics: proceedings of the Third
International Symposium on Arctic Geology., A.F.E.H.R. Balkwill (ed.), 371-398. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists.,
Calgary.
Processing coastal imagery with Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition, version 1.6 -Structure from motion workflow documentation
- J.-S R Over
- A C Ritchie
- C J Kranenburg
- J A Brown
- D D Buscombe
- T Noble
- C R Sherwood
- J A Warrick
- P A Wernette
Over, J.-S.R., Ritchie, A.C., Kranenburg, C.J., Brown, J.A., Buscombe,
D.D., Noble, T., Sherwood, C.R., Warrick, J.A. and Wernette,
P.A. [2021]. Processing coastal imagery with Agisoft Metashape
Professional Edition, version 1.6 -Structure from motion workflow documentation. US Geological Survey, https://doi.org/10.3133/
ofr20211039.
V3Geo: A cloud-based repository for virtual 3D models in geoscience
- S J Buckley
- J A Howell
- N Naumann
- C Lewis
- M Chmielewska
- K Ringdal
- J Vanbiervliet
- B Tong
- O S Mulelid-Tynes
- D Foster
Buckley, S.J., Howell, J.A., Naumann, N., Lewis, C., Chmielewska, M.,
Ringdal, K., Vanbiervliet, J., Tong, B., Mulelid-Tynes, O.S. and
Foster, D. [2021]. V3Geo: A cloud-based repository for virtual 3D
models in geoscience. Geoscience Communication Discussions,
1-27, doi.org/10.5194/gc-2021-30.
- Geosphere
Geosphere, doi.org/10.1130/GES02002.1.
Progressive environmental deterioration in northwestern Pangea leading to the latest Permian extinction
Progressive environmental deterioration in northwestern Pangea
leading to the latest Permian extinction. Bulletin, 127(9-10), 1331-1347, doi.org/10.1130/B31197.1.
Global warming leads to Early Triassic nutrient stress across northern Pangea
- S E Grasby
- J Knies
- B Beauchamp
- D P Bond
- P Wignall
- Y Sun
Grasby, S.E., Knies, J., Beauchamp, B., Bond, D.P., Wignall, P. and
Sun, Y. [2020].Global warming leads to Early Triassic nutrient
stress across northern Pangea. GSA Bulletin, 132(5-6), 943-954, doi.
org/10.1130/B32036.1.
The duration and magnitude of Cretaceous cool events: Evidence from the northern high latitudes
- M L Vickers
- G D Price
- R M Jerrett
- P Sutton
- M P Watkinson
- M Fitzpatrick
Vickers, M.L., Price, G.D., Jerrett, R.M., Sutton, P., Watkinson, M.P. and
FitzPatrick, M. [2019]. The duration and magnitude of Cretaceous
cool events: Evidence from the northern high latitudes. Bulletin,
131(11-12), 1979-1994, doi.org/10.1130/B35074.1.