Extraction of the three-dimensional architecture of deformation bands from ground-penetrating radar cubes using multiattribute analysis

Fault zones in porous siliciclastic rocks can be dominated by deformation bands (DBs), which are small-scale tabular structures that usually occur as cluster features. DBs can reduce permeability, contributing to the compartmentalization of oil reservoirs and aquifers. DBs cannot be imaged by seismic methods, but can be imaged by Ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Although DBs and host rocks share the same lithology, GPR imaging is possible because DBs can cause small vertical offsets and reduce the amplitude of the GPR signals. We present an automatic approach for extracting the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of DBs from GPR cubes using multiattribute analysis. We used a 200 MHz GPR cube surveyed on an outcrop of a sandstone formation highly impacted by DBs in the Rio do Peixe Basin, northeastern Brazil. The multiattribute analysis is based on edge evidence and sequential ant-tracking, a combination that can identify narrow zones of attenuated GPR signals. Furthermore, the 3D architecture of DBs was extracted as a geobody using an opacity balancing operator. The geological reliability and limitations of the geobody were demonstrated by comparing slices of the geobody with images of exposed DBs in similar positions, in addition to structural measurements obtained in field and in the geobody. •An outcrop of a sandstone highly impacted by deformation bands was selected.•A 200 MHz Ground Penetrating Radar cube was surveyed in the outcrop.•Deformation bands appear as small offsets and/or reduced amplitude events.•A multi-attribute workflow is designed to extract deformation bands as a geobody.•Reliability of the geobody is shown by comparing its slices with photographs.