Multi-scale fracture network analysis from an outcrop analogue: A case study from the Cambro-Ordovician clastic succession in Petra, Jordan

A regional multi-scale fracture network is prominently exposed in the Cambro-Ordovician sedimentary succession in south-western Jordan. This succession consists of marine deposits, overlain by heterogeneous deltaic sediments, culminating in 500 m of massive to cross-bedded fluvial sandstones. A data set acquired from high-resolution satellite imagery and field measurements enables the quantification of the geometry and spatial characteristics of the fracture network in three dimensions.Five directional fracture sets are identified from the satellite data with mean strikes of 000°, 040°, 065°, 120°, and 145°. Large fracture zones (longer than 600 m), composed of tightly spaced joints confined in fracture swarms, exhibit a log-normal trace-length distribution and the fracture swarms are regularly spaced. The trace-length distribution of intermediate fractures (40–600 m long) exhibits power-law characteristics and the fractures are clustered, reflecting different fracture system styles and stratigraphic controls as a function of scale. The small-scale fracture network is strongly dependent on the distribution of bedding plane discontinuities throughout different parts of the succession. The multi-scale fracture network is categorized in a three-tier hierarchical fracture model that reflects underlying stratigraphic controls in the study area. This type of model can be used to improve the representation of fracture networks in fluid flow simulations of fractured reservoirs with hybrid models that combine elements of discrete fracture networks and continuum models.

► An outcrop analogue fracture study is carried out in Petra, Jordan.
► A multi-scale data set is acquired from satellite imagery and field data.
►  Fracture characteristics (e.g. length, spacing) are analysed for all observed scales.
► Scale-limited distribution types are tied to stratigraphic controls on fracturing.
► Found relationships are conceptualized in a three-tier hierarchical fracture model.