61-1 Digital Outcrop Analysis of the Boquillas Canyon Fault System: Integrating Structure from Motion Photogrammetry and Virtual Reality Geological Studio for Fracture Characterization and Strain Analysis

Session: Advancing Geologic Analysis with Digital Outcrops and Close-Range Remote Sensing Data (Posters)

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The Boquillas Canyon Fault system preserves deformation from Laramide compressional tectonics and subsequent Basin and Range extension. This study uses Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry integrated with Virtual Reality Geological Studio (VRGS) to analyze fracture orientations and characterize strain across key outcrops within the fault system. Field data collection involves systematic photographic documentation of selected outcrops, processed to generate high-resolution dense point clouds. Digital outcrop models are analyzed with VRGS to quantify fracture orientations, densities, and spatial relationships. This methodology enables precise three-dimensional structural measurements. Fracture orientation data facilitates strain analysis, allowing reconstruction of paleostress fields and deformation mechanisms. The research focuses on understanding the interplay between compression and extension events, with consideration of potential oblique deformation components that characterize the structural evolution of the fault system within the broader context of continental rift-related deformation in the Rio Grande Rift region. Selected outcrops represent key structural domains chosen for exposure, quality, and potential to show different phases of deformation. Cross-cutting relationships and overprinting textures help distinguish between brittle deformation episodes. Strain analysis through conjugate fracture sets provides quantitative constraints on paleostress field magnitudes and orientations during successive tectonic events, offering insights into the kinematic evolution of the Boquillas Canyon Fault system.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-11118

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