Outcropping analogs and multiscale fracture patterns in the Jandaíra formation

Outcropping analogs can provide key information on the 3D organization of fracture networks affecting carbonate reservoirs. Such information, however, needs to be integrated in a consistent work flow which includes i) 3D geometric model of the reservoir architecture, ii) mechanic modeling to determine areas of fracturing, iii) characterization of fracture networks, iv) determination of fracture-related permeability in small representative volumes and v) fluid flow simulations. Fracture networks have been recently analysed from km-scale pavements of the Jandaira Formation in NE Brazil. Combining images from a drone with outcrop analysis and thin section we present the first multiscale characterization of the fracture field affecting the shallow water carbonates.Geoscience & EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience

Characterizing and Modelling Fractures and Karst in Carbonate Units - The Porocarste Project

We investigated the Quaternary epigenic karst system in the Jandaíra Formation, a Turonian–Campanian carbonate platform in the Potiguar basin, northeastern Brazil. We concentrated our investigation in the vadose zone of the present-day karst, but also used borehole data. The leaching zones are preferentially concentrated along pre-solution openings composed of faults, joints, and bedding planes. These dissolved and enlarged faults and beddings form a system of caves and sinkholes, which must be included in the architecture of karst systems. This controlled-karst architecture presents a predictable geometry. This process occurs when the carbonate platform is exposed for a long period and can be thus affected by surface processes such as dissolution of erosion. The Quaternary epigenic karst features we describe may correlate with paleokarst systems in other carbonate platforms.Structural EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience