Abstract

Collection of dune foreset thicknesses from outcrop can provide valuable sedimentological information. One means of inferring a tidal origin of a sedimentary deposit is to use variations in dune foreset thickness and analyze those data to identify periodicity of sedimentation rates. Measurements of dune foreset thickness from outcrop are typically collected using photographs, or in the case of larger intervals, a photomosaic: perspective distortion that results from the projection of a three-dimensional outcrop onto two dimensions is unavoidable in this type of dataset. This distortion will affect any collected thickness measurements, and ultimately the final results and interpretation of the dataset. Herein, we present an alternative method that uses 3D photogrammetric techniques to mitigate errors and perspective distortion of a dataset using a case study from the McMurray Formation in Alberta, Canada. Collecting thickness measurements from 3D photogrammetry models yields greater precision and reduces noise in the dataset, allowing a stronger interpretation of the data.