Overview

The content for this option is currently being revised

The options under the Display submenu require both that a structural database exist (see the Utilities submenu) and that it is opened ( Open Database option).

Structural Data

The structural data is represented as objects according to structure type. Each structure is coloured according to the value for nominated fields in the structural database. The data can be displayed in three different windows:

Primary Window (main view)
The Primary Window displays structural data loaded from the structural database or transferred from the Stereonets Window.
Stereonets Window (projection view)
The Stereonets Window displays structural data loaded from the structural database or transferred from the Primary Window as hemispherical projections. These projections may be in the form of any of several standard structural geological representations (for example Equal Area pole points, Equal Angle plane lines etc.). Data in the Stereonets Window may also be contoured.
Rose Diagram Window
The Rose Diagram Window displays structural data loaded from the structural database or transferred from either the Primary or Stereonets Window. The Rose Diagram view tends to be more of a data viewing tool, offering less flexibility.

Any object in the Stereonets or Rose Diagram Window can be transferred to the Primary Window to allow the display and plotting of Stereonet and Rose diagram data alongside the 3D representation.

To switch between the windows use the View > Windows > Select option or the Primary, Stereonets or Rose Diagram options.

The options under the Display submenu will create several temporary layers (each starting with DIG$). Appendix B lists these layers together with a description of what they contain.

Tadpole Plots and Stickplot

The Tadpole plots and Stickplot options available from the Geotech > Display menu are valuable tools that Vulcan provides to analyse and report on dipmeter (diplog) data contained in a structural database. By working with both the true (tadpole) and apparent (stickplot) dips, you can increase the accuracy of the direction of dip and the horizons interpolation between the wells and drillholes.

Prerequisite

Before you begin working with Tadpoles and Stickplots, you must first load the object that encloses the desired area. Next, you must create a section view (for example using 2 points). This will allow you to create the Stickplot and Tadpole plots.

Setup

The Tadpole Display Setup and Stick Plot Display Setup panels allows you to define how your dipmeter data will be analysed and how the resulting report will be presented. Key areas include:

Graph attributes including scale, position, grid spacing, grid colour, and marker insertion
Physical attributes of the tadpole (size, colour, pattern, connecting lines) and stickplot (colour only)
How dip limits for the tadpole display are determined
- From the data
- From the minimum and maximum numbers you enter, ranging from 0 to 90 degrees
Whether to display tadpoles that are located outside the dip limits. Selecting this option gives you a good sense of what is happening outside the selected range
Whether to display a vertical annotation for depth markers and its location - to the left or right of the graph
Which rule to follow when determining orientation of the structural surface
- Dip and dip direction
- Dip and strike with the right hand rule
- Dip and strike with data from the strike orientation field
Whether tadpoles and stickplots should be averaged and a single, unique tadpole or stickplot replace those that fall in a specific range

Loading

After defining what data is used and how it will look, the Load to Tadpole Plot and Load to Stick Plot and their subsequent panels allow you to:

Choose how the data is loaded - by 2D or 3D location or by database field
Define any limitations on the data fields used

Key Features

Vulcan has expanded the capabilities of the existing Tadpole, and added new Stickplot 3D structural display functionality, providing greater flexibility when working with tadpoles and stickplots. With these options you can:

Define the graph and data used
Load a large number of tadpoles or stickplots to the display
Reduce the number of tadpoles and stickplots displayed by averaging those that share a defined range and dip
Hover over a specific tadpole or stickplot to view its layer and object details
Create and display a report for a specific tadpole or stickplot
View all data and error messages in the Vulcan report window
Launch the plot utility to create and print the tadpole plots and stickplots

Benefits of using these options include:

Tadpole plots contain depth, azimuth and true dip
Stickplots contain apparent dip
True tadpole shape and tail direction are preserved when tadpole graphs are viewed with vertical exaggeration