AAPG Methods in Exploration No. 13, Chapter 13:
Paleocurrents from FMS and Scribe-oriented Core--A Comparison, by Tobias H. D. Payenberg,
Pages 185 - 198
from:
AAPG Methods in Exploration No. 13: Geological Applications of Well Logs, Edited
by M. Lovell and N. Parkinson
Copyright © 2002 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights
reserved.
Chapter 13
Paleocurrents from FMS and Scribe-oriented Core--A Comparison
Tobias H. D. Payenberg1
School of Natural Resource Sciences
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
ABSTRACT
Paleocurrents were interpreted from cross-stratified beds identified on Formation
MicroScanner (FMS)2 images and from four depth-matched, scribe-oriented
sandstone cores. The results were compared to document the extent of similarity; results
varied greatly. In some cases, paleocurrent data differ widely between cores and FMS
images, with absolute azimuth-vector means being opposed by as much as 180 degrees. In one
of the four cores, the azimuth difference was almost 110 degrees, but the lower part of
the sandstone shows consistent readings in both data sets. Azimuths and magnitudes of dip
in the lowermost sandstone match well, with an absolute azimuth difference of only 6
degrees. In the three of four intervals where azimuth readings differ significantly, dips
inferred from FMS images are on average 10 degrees less than dips of foreset beds measured
in cores. In these intervals, circular standard deviations of FMS azimuths also are higher
than those measured in oriented cores from the same depth intervals.
