Discontinuities Overview
Data Orientation Convention
The Data Orientation Convention in the Discontinuities tab of the Orientation Data dialog refers to the format of the orientation data collected on the Traverse. Depending on the Traverse Type selected, various Data Orientation Conventions are available. See the Data Orientation Convention topic for more information.
Columns
For each discontinuity measurement, the required columns are as follows:
ORIENTATION COLUMNS
The orientation columns are always the first two columns in the Discontinuities tab. The orientation columns depend on the Data Orientation Convention selected. The columns are either:
- Dip/Dip Direction
- Strike(right)/Dip
- Strike(left)/Dip
- Trend/Plunge
- Alpha/Beta
QUANTITY COLUMN
The Quantity column allows you to record the number of identical features represented by a particular measurement.
- For convenience, the values in the Quantity column are initially set to 1. The user can then enter higher values as necessary (e.g., 2, 3, 4, ...).
- Although the values in the Quantity column are generally 1 or greater, the value may be set to zero if you wish to plot a feature on a pole plot, but NOT use it in the computation of contour plots.
- It is possible for the Quantity column to contain non-integer values (e.g., custom weighting).
DISTANCE COLUMN
The Distance column is only available for Linear Scanline, Linear Borehole Televiewer, Linear Borehole Oriented Core, Curved Borehole Televiewer, and Curved Borehole Oriented Core traverse types. The values in the Distance column should correspond to measurements recorded along a traverse and be within the total distance/length of the traverse or survey file.
For a given Traverse, the Distance values should be entered in order of increasing distance.
A Distance column is required if you wish to use any of the following options:
LOCATION COLUMNS
The location columns represent the UTM coordinates of the discontinuity and are only available for Spot Mapping, Planar, and Clinorule traverse types.
- X (East)
- Y (North)
- Z (Elev.)
- For Linear Scanline, Linear Borehole Televiewer, Linear Borehole Oriented Core, Curved Borehole Televiewer, and Curved Borehole Oriented Core traverses, the location is computed automatically by Dips using the Local Coordinates (representing the start of the scanline or the collar of a borehole), the traverse path, and the Distance column.
- For Spot Mapping, Planar, and Clinorule traverses, the X, Y, and Z must be explicitly entered.
PERSISTENCE COLUMN
The Persistence column presents the size of the discontinuity (i.e., maximum persistence, radius, or trace length) and can be used to perform statistics analysis or used for filtering by Persistence to obtain subsets of discontinuities representing major and minor features.
Enter directly in the cell or paste into the grid by using CTRL + V on the keyboard.
Add Column
Any number of extra columns can be added to record additional information for each discontinuity.
To add an extra column:
- Select Add Column button.
- In the Rename Column dialog:
- Enter the Column Name.
- Select the Data Type.
- Select the Format.
- Click OK to add a user-defined extra column.
Delete Column
Only user-defined extra columns can be deleted.
To delete an extra column:
- Select the Delete
button in the column header.
Rename Column
Only user-defined extra columns can be renamed.
To rename an extra column:
- Select the Edit
button in the column header.
Units
Units can be defined for unit-sensitive inputs, such as the Distance, by selecting the Define Units button.
In the Define Unit dialog:
- Distance Units are restricted to Data Type = Length
- Extra column Data Type and Format are unrestricted