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POND: an Excel spreadsheet to obtain structural attitudes of Planes from

Oriented Drillcore

Article in Computers & Geosciences · May 2003

DOI: 10.1016/S0098-3004(03)00033-5

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

POND: A Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet to Obtain

Structural Attitudes of Planes from Oriented Drillcore

Computers and Geosciences, Manuscript 02-54

C.R. Stanley1 and J.J. Hooper2

1
Corresponding Author

Department of Geology, Acadia University

Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6

VOX (902) 585-1344, FAX (902) 585-1816

cliff.stanley@acadiau.ca

2
Department of Mathematics, Acadia University

Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6

VOX (902) 585-1556, FAX (902) 585-1074

jeff.hooper@acadiau.ca

(11/15/2011) 1 Submitted to Computers and Geosciences

POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

Abstract

The POND Excel® spreadsheet allows determination and presentation of the attitudes of

planes intersected in ‘oriented’ and ‘navigated’ diamond drillcore. Two drillcore navigation

measurements (azimuth and plunge from a deviation log), and two plane-to-drillcore angular

measurements (angle to core axis, and angle between orientation mark and intersection ellipse)

are required to obtain a solution. All possible drillcore orientations are supported and multiple

plane orientations can be determined simultaneously. Graphical results are presented on a

stereonet as poles to the intersected planes. Numerical results are presented in a matrix to allow

clipping into stereonet programs for contouring and more formal and involved structural analysis

and display.

Keywords

plane orientation, oriented drillcore, stereonet, structural geology, mineral exploration

Introduction

Over the past 30 years, mineral exploration, environmental geology and geotechnical

engineering applications have benefited from the superior geological information obtained from

diamond drillcore (Johnston, 1985; Laing, 1977; Bridges and Best, 1971; Lyons, 1964). Recent

innovations in drilling technology have not only allowed drillcore to be accurately ‘navigated’,

where its direction at any point is determined from a deviation log, but also to be ‘oriented’,

where the actual attitude of the drillcore at any point is determined using reference marks on the

drillcore. This has allowed acquisition of structural information from drillcore, such as the

orientations of planes intersected by drillcore (Mizugaki, 1995; Laing, 1988; Panek and Melvin,

1987; Laing and Hammond, 1986).

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

Several graphical methods have been employed to determine the orientation of planes with

unknown attitudes (Marjoribanks, 1997; Marshak and Mitra, 1988). These involve using the

azimuth and plunge of the drillcore at the intersection point of the plane with unknown attitude.

Other information, such as the angle between the plane and the core axis and the angle between

the core orientation mark and the plane, are also collected. With these data, historical approaches

have used stereonet projections to identify the orientation of the drillcore, and employed several

different paper, pencil, protractor and compass constructions to determine the orientations of

planes with unknown attitudes.

Unfortunately, these methods may introduce additional errors, beyond those produced by

collection and mark-up of the core, caused by drafting inaccuracies inherent in the graphing of

points, lines and small and great circles on stereonets. Furthermore, these methods are

extraordinarily time consuming to employ, requiring several minutes per intersected plane. In

many applications, the time-intensive nature of these procedures limits the amount of

information collected and evaluated, reducing the potential value of the drillcore in the process.

An alternative approach involves using spreadsheet software to undertake the various

calculations required to determine the orientation of planes with unknown attitudes intersected in

drillcore (Hinman, 1991, 1993, 1994). Although useful, this software utilizes only ‘navigated’

drillcore and requires one pervasive and constant, known planar or linear orientation to

determine the attitudes of (other) unknown planes. Consequently, determining the orientations of

planes with unknown attitudes is impossible without outcrop or underground workings using this

software.

As a result, the POND (Planes from Oriented and Navigated Drillcore) Excel® spreadsheet

has been developed to allow determination of the orientation of planes with unknown attitudes

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

using ‘oriented’ and ‘navigated’ drillcore. This software can be used in areas where measurable

structural information from outcrop is completely lacking. The POND Excel® spreadsheet uses

the method described below to determine the orientation of a plane with unknown attitude, but is

slightly different from those of Marjoribanks (1997) and Marshak and Mitra (1988).

Nevertheless, it produces the same result. This alternative approach was chosen because of its

simpler mathematical formulation, making it more readily ‘programmed’ in Excel® to accurately

and rapidly calculate its results from input drillcore orientations and plane-to-core angles using

analytical geometry principles. The approach also allows plotting of the results on Wulff equal-

angle (and other) stereonets, and facilitates instantaneous determination of the orientations of any

number of planes with unknown attitudes simply by copying the calculation cells downward in

the spreadsheet.

Theory

The analytical geometry calculations required to determine the orientation of a plane with

unknown attitude (Q) using the method employed in the POND Excel® spreadsheet require the

measurement of four angular variables (Figure 1):

1.) θ = the azimuth (trend) of the drillcore at the depth where a plane with unknown

attitude intersects the drillcore (0 ≤ θ ≤ 360o);

2.) φ = the plunge of the drillcore at the depth where a plane with unknown attitude

intersects the drillcore (90 ≥ φ ≥ -90o; note that the plunge can be positive to

accommodate underground drillcores drilled upward);

3.) α = the smallest (acute) angle between the plane with unknown attitude and the

drillcore axis (0 ≤ α ≤ 90o); and

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

4.) β = the angle (arc) between the orientation mark on the drillcore (usually the drillcore

keel) and the top (closest point to the drillcore collar) of the ellipse created by the

drillcore and the intersection of the plane with unknown attitude; this angle is

measured in a clockwise direction within the plane perpendicular to the drillcore,

while looking from the collar toward the end of the drillcore (0 ≤ β ≤ 360o; note that

this is the same angle as that between the drillcore keel and the pole to the plane with

unknown attitude, measured in a plane perpendicular to the drillcore).

The first two of these measurements describe the orientation of a drillcore drilled downward,

horizontally or upward (from underground). The third (α) measurement is immediately converted

into the angle between the pole of the plane with unknown attitude and the drillcore axis using

the equation: γ = 90o – α (Figure 1), so that the orientation of the plane with unknown attitude

can be described as a point (the pole to that plane) on a stereonet.

The orientation of the drillcore at its point of intersection with the plane of unknown attitude

can be represented in a Cartesian coordinate system by first converting the azimuth and plunge

of the drillcore (θ and φ) into direction cosines using the formulae:

P = (px, py, pz) = [sin(θ) cos(φ), cos(θ) cos(φ), sin(φ)] (1)

(Figure 2). These direction cosines define the coordinates of a point (P) on the unit sphere

centered at the origin [(0, 0, 0); O], such that the vector OP is parallel to the drillcore at the point

it intersects the plane with unknown attitude. Note that the first two of these direction cosines

formulae have been adjusted from the conventional cos(θ) cos(φ) and sin(θ) cos(φ) terms in

order to convert the classical geographic reference frame (with 0o oriented north, increasing

clockwise) into a trigonometric reference frame (with 0o oriented east, increasing counter-

clockwise) by substitution of:

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

sin(θ) = cos(90o - θ) (2)

into the conventional direction cosines formulae (Fisher et al., 1987).

These (and in fact any) direction cosine coefficients (x, y, z) can then be converted into Wulff

equal angle stereonet coordinates (x’, y’) for plotting on a stereonet using:

x y (3)
x’ = and: y’ =
1! z 1! z

if z ≤ 0, and:

!x !y (4)
x’ = and: y’ =
1! z 1! z

if z > 0.

If the drillcore was not ‘oriented’, the angle (γ) between the pole to the plane with unknown

attitude and the drillcore axis would define a cone which would contain lines through the apex

that represent the orientations of all possible poles to the plane with unknown orientation (Figure

3). This cone would intersect the unit sphere in a small circle centred on the drillcore axis. The

radius of this small circle is:

R = sin(γ) . (5)

Several important points on this small circle can be identified. The unit sphere coordinates

for the vector with the shallowest plunge in the small circle of possible orientations for the pole

to the plane with unknown attitude are:

A = (ax, ay, az) = [sin(θ) cos(φ - γ), cos(θ) cos(φ - γ), sin(φ - γ)] . (6)

Similarly, the unit sphere coordinates for the vector opposite A on the small circle of possible

orientations for the pole to the plane with unknown attitude are:

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

B = (bx, by, bz) = [sin(θ) cos(φ + γ), cos(θ) cos(φ + γ), sin(φ + γ)] . (7)

Note that this vector does not necessarily have the largest plunge in the small circle of possible

orientations for the pole to the plane with unknown attitude, unless A and B have the same

azimuths.

These two points (A and B) allow determination of the coordinates of the centre point (C) of

the small circle, which lies halfway between A and B in the Cartesian coordinate system:

C = (cx, cy, cz) = (A + B)/2 = [(ax + bx)/2, (ay + by)/2, (az + bz)/2] . (8)

This centre point of the small circle does not reside on the unit sphere (unlike A and B), and has

the coordinates:

C = (cx, cy, cz) = [sin(θ) cos(φ) cos(γ), cos(θ) cos(φ) cos(γ), sin(φ) cos(γ)] . (9)

In order to determine where on this small circle the true pole to the plane with unknown

attitude is, the point D, which is located on the small circle diameter AB, at a distance abs[R cos

β] from C must be considered (Figure 4). If R cos β > 0, the point D lies between C and B;

otherwise it lies between C and A). Regardless, its location can be determined by:

D = (dx, dy, dz) = C + cos(β) (B - C) . (10)

The coordinates of D in the Cartesian coordinate system are:

D = [(1-cos(β))cx + cos(β)bx, (1-cos(β))cy + cos(β)by, (11)

(1-cos(β))cz + cos(β)bz] .

Furthermore, the equation for the plane containing the small circle (and the points A, B, C and D;

Plane S; Figures 3 and 4) can be expressed in matrix notation as:

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

cxx + cyy + czz = cx2 + cy2 + cz2 , or: (CTQ) = (CTC) , (12)

where:

cxx + cyy + czz = (CTQ) , cx2 + cy2 + cz2 = (CTC) , (13)

and ‘T’ indicates the matrix transpose. Finally, the equation of a plane perpendicular to the

diameter AB that intersects AB a distance abs[R cos β] from C (i.e., it contains the point D; Plane

T; Figure 4) is:

(B-C)T(Q-D) = 0 . (14)

Rearranging this equation gives:

(B-C)TQ = (BTD) - (CTD) (15)

or:

(bx - cx) x + (by – cy) y + (bz – cz) z = (bxdx + bydy + bzdz) - (cxdx + cydy + czdz) . (16)

The two perpendicular planes [Plane S, normal to the vector OC and containing the small

circle, and the Plane T, parallel to OC and passing through the point D] intersect in a horizontal

line (U; Figure 4) that passes through two points on the small circle (as well as the unit sphere).

One of these points defines the orientation of the pole to the plane with unknown attitude. To

determine the equation for Line U, the equations for Planes S and T are combined in two

different ways through substitution in terms of x and y to produce two different sets of equations

describing this line of intersection. Note that these equations cannot universally be cast in terms

of z in a complementary way, because the Line U is horizontal and an arbitrary z will not

generally yield a corresponding x and y coordinate. The resulting sets of equations that determine

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

the y and z coordinates from the x coordinate, and that determine the x and z coordinates from the

y coordinate are:

& (b ' c z )c x ' (bx ' c x )c z [ ][ ]

# & c z ( B ' C ) T D ' C T C (bz ' c z ) # (17)
y = '$ z !x ' $ ! ,
$ (b ' c )c ' (b ' c )c ! $ (b ' c ) c ' (b ' c ) c !
% z z y y y z " % z z y y y z "

& (b y ' c y )c x ' (bx ' c x )c y [ ][ ]

# & c y ( B ' C ) T D ' C T C (b y ' c y ) # (18)
z=$ !x + $ !,
$ (b ' c )c ' (b ' c )c ! $ (b ' c ) c ' (b ' c ) c !
% z z y y y z " % z z y y y z "

and:

& (bz ' c z )c y ' (b y ' c y )c z

x = '$$
# [ ][ ]
& c ( B ' C ) T D ' C T C (bz ' c z ) #
!! y ' $$ z !! ,
(19)
% (bz ' c z )c x ' (bx ' c x )c z " % (b z ' c z ) c x ' (b x ' c x ) c z "

& (bx ' c x )c y ' (b y ' c y )c x

z = $$
# [ ][ ]
& c ( B ' C ) T D ' C T C (bx ' c x ) #
!! y + $$ x !! .
(20)
% (bz ' c z )c x ' (bx ' c x )c z " % (b z ' c z ) c x ' (b x ' c x ) c z "

Either of these sets of equations may be used to determine the coordinates of a point on the

Line U, provided that the orientation of Line U is not parallel to one of the horizontal axes of the

coordinate system of the unit sphere (X or Y), in which case only one or the other can be used. By

examining the slope and intercept terms of these equations, one can determine whether the Line

U is parallel to the X or Y axis, and then select the appropriate set of equations with which to

determine the coordinates of any point on this line of intersection.

A point on Line U, say E, is then arbitrarily picked by assigning a value to its x or y

coordinate. Then, Equations 17 and 18, or 19 and 20 are used to determine the other coordinates

(y and z or x and z). The vector D-E is then parallel to (and part of) Line U. When scaled

appropriately to a length equal to sin(β) [obtained by dividing the vector D-E by the length of D-

E and multiplying it by R × sin(β)], the rescaled D-E vector can be added and subtracted to and

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

subtracted from point D to obtain the coordinates of the two points defining the intersection

points between the Line U and the small circle (F and G; Figure 4). Using the magnitudes of θ

and β and appropriate trigonometric rules, the actual pole to the plane with unknown attitude (Q)

can be determined as either F or G (Figures 4 and 5). The coordinates of this point can be

validated, because it must lie on the unit sphere, and so its distance from the origin must equal

unity. Finally, Equations 3 or 4 can be used to convert the direction cosines coordinates for Q

into stereonet coordinates for plotting.

Software

The POND Excel® spreadsheet has been developed to employ an analytical geometry method

to determine the orientation (strike and dip; right-hand rule) of a plane with unknown attitude,

and the orientation (azimuth and plunge) of the pole to that plane. The spreadsheet employs a

worksheet for the calculations, and presents the pole orientation results on a Wulff equal angle

stereonet (Figures 6 and 7). Multiple plane orientations can be determined simultaneously simply

by entering the required measurements on additional lines within the calculation worksheet and

copying the calculation cells from the top data line downward, so that the calculations are made

on the lines containing the additional measurements. Theses results can be copied into other

software for further structural analysis, including contouring on a Schmidt equal area stereonet.

The POND Excel® spreadsheet has been designed to ensure that drillcore orientations

(defined by θ and φ) can be in any direction, including upwards, so that structural information

from underground diamond drillcore can be readily acquired. Furthermore, calculations for

drillcore and plane orientations that would be undefined due to discontinuous trigonometric

functions (e.g., tangents) have been addressed using logical operators so that correct answers are

always obtained.

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

Conclusions

The POND Excel® spreadsheet provides the geologist or engineer with an accurate and fast

software tool with which to evaluate structural information using ‘oriented’ and ‘navigated’

diamond drillcore. The POND Excel® spreadsheet is available as freeware from the following

website: http://ace.acadiau.ca/~cstanley/software.html.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. William Laing for his helpful discussions about how to easily obtain

structural information from diamond drillcore. This research was supported by an NSERC

Discovery Grant to the first author. Excel® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Rockworks® is a registered trademark of Rockware Incorporated.

References

Bridges, M.C., Best, E.J. 1971. Application of oriented drillcore in structural geology at Mt. Isa.

In: Proceedings, Australia-New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, Institution of

Engineers, Sydney, Australia, pp.211-216.

Fisher, N.I., Lewis, T., Embleton, B.J.J. 1987. Statistical Analysis of Spherical Data. Cambridge

University Press, New York, 329pp.

Hinman, M. 1994. Drillcore structural data generation using a structural manipulation

spreadsheet. In: Freeman, M. (Ed.), Geoscience Australia; 1994 and Beyond. Abstracts,

Geological Society of Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 37, 175.

Hinman, M. 1993. A Lotus 1-2-3 diamond drillcore structural manipulation spreadsheet;

drillcore structural data generation. Computers and Geosciences, 19 (3), 343-354.

(11/15/2011) 11 Submitted to Computers and Geosciences

POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

Hinman, M. 1991. Macroscopic structural setting and controls on mineralization at Peak, Cobar,

New South Wales; drillcore structure using a structural manipulation spreadsheet. In:

Proceedings, Structural Geology in Mining and Exploration, Geology Department and

Extension Service, Univ. of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 25, 123.

Johnston, J.D. 1985. Interpretation of refolding and asymmetric folds using vergence concepts in

drillcore. Journal of Structural Geology, 7, 317-326.

Laing, W.P. 1977. Structural interpretation of drill core from folded and cleaved rocks.

Economic Geology, 72, 671-685.

Laing, W.P. 1988. A system of structural analysis in drillcore, and how to use it to find ore

deposits. In: Allen, R. (Ed.), Achievements in Australian Geoscience. Abstracts, Geological

Society of Australia, Sydney, Australia, 21, 227-228.

Laing, W.P., Hammond, R.L. 1986. Manual of structural techniques in outcrop and drillcore for

the practising explorationist. In: Branch, C.D. (Ed.), Earth Resources in Time and Space.

Proceedings, 8th Australian Geological Convention, Abstracts, Geological Society of

Australia, 15, 243.

Lyons, M.S. 1964. Interpretation of Planar Structure in Drillhole Core. Special Paper, Geological

Society of America, 67pp.

Marshak, S., Mitra, G. 1988. Calculation of layer attitudes in drill holes. In: Basic Methods of

Structural Geology. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 446pp.

Marjoribanks, R.W. 1997. Geological Methods in Mineral Exploration and Mining. Chapman

and Hall, London, England, 115pp.

Mizugaki, K. 1995. Fracture system analysis of drillcore samples; an example from the Wita area

of central Kyushu, Japan. In: Miyazaki, T., Ito, H. (Eds.), Research on Exploration Methods

(11/15/2011) 12 Submitted to Computers and Geosciences

POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

for Fractured-Type Geothermal Reservoirs. Report, Geological Survey of Japan, 282, 329-

356.

Panek, L.A., Melvin, M.T. 1987. Fracture Geometries in Three Ore Bodies Mined by Undercut

Caving as Determined from Oriented Drill Core and Scanline Mapping. U.S. Bureau of

Mines, Report of Investigations, 9049, 82 p.

Figure Captions

Figure 1 - Drillcore measurements used to determine the orientation of the pole to a plane with

unknown attitude.

Figure 2 - Orientation of a drillcore on the unit circle.

Figure 3 - Intersection of the cone of possible poles with the unit sphere is a small circle (resides

on Plane S).

Figure 4 - Small circle with various construction points used to determine the orientation of the

pole to a plane with unknown attitude. Plane T is perpendicular to Plane S and their line of

intersection is FDG. The point A is the possible pole to the plane with unknown orientation

with the shallowest plunge.

Figure 5 – Wulff equal angle stereonet illustrating how measured angles lead to determination of

the orientation of the pole to a plane with unknown attitude.

Figure 6 – Example input data and output results from the POND Excel® spreadsheet for

calculating the orientation of a plane intersected by ‘oriented’ and ‘navigated’ diamond

drillcores.

Figure 7 – Example Wulff equal angle stereonet (A) from the POND Excel® spreadsheet

calculated using data presented in Figure 6, and same data copied and pasted from the

spreadsheet into Rockworks® for presentation as a contoured Schmidt stereonet (B). Results

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POND - Planes from Oriented, Navigated Drillcore Stanley and Hooper

indicate that two different plane orientations were intersected (one is sub-horizontal and one

is sub-vertical, striking approximately N-S).

Figure 1

Core
Axis Pole to
! = 90$"# plane with
unknown
attitude
(Q)

#
Plane with
unknown
attitude

Navigated
drillcore

Orientation
mark Drillcore
(keel of azimuth
drill core) and plunge
(&, ')

(11/15/2011) 14 Submitted to Computers and Geosciences

 Figure 2

N !

W O E
S
"

Figure 3

W E
S

Cone circumscribed
A
by possible poles to the
plane with unknown
C P
attitude R
!
B Azimuth
and plunge

l an eS of drill core
P (", #)
Figure 4

Possible poles to
the plane with
unknown attitude

A Plane T
R sin ! R sin !

F D G Line U

R cos !

!
C
Small circle
of possible
poles for
R
the plane with
unknown
attitude

Plane S B
Figure 5

Pole to the
plane with
unknown attitude Azimuth
that passes through and plunge
orientation mark of drillcore
(!, ")
W E
#
Small circle
of possible B
poles to the
plane with P Q
unknown $
attitude
A

S
Figure 6 { can be printed in grey tones}
Figure 7A { can be printed in grey tones}

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4
Unit Northing

0.2

0.0

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8

-1.0
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Unit Easting
 Figure 7B { can be printed in grey tones}

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