** Progress in Earth and Planetary Science is the official journal of the Japan Geoscience Union, published in collaboration with its 50 society members.

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    • Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
    • Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
    • Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
    • Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
    • Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
    Progress in Earth and Planetary Science

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    Methodology

    Interdisciplinary research

    202009202009

    Visualization of the morphology and mode of occurrence of Cenomanian rudists within drillcore by X-ray CT scanning and 3D modeling

    Yamanaka M, Sano S, Al Zaabi H, Fujioka H, Iryu Y

    X-ray CT, Surface rendering, Volume rendering, 3D modeling, Rudists, Abu Dhabi, Cretaceous

    Fig 1: X-ray CT images processed with a surface-rendering technique showing the mode of occurrence of rudists within drillcore.

    Rudists are a group of bizarrely shaped marine bivalves that lived inthe Tethys Ocean from the Late Jurassic to the latest Cretaceous. They aremorphologically variable, including snail-like, cup-like, and horn-like shapes. Inthe Middle East, Cretaceous carbonates with rudists and rudist fragments are wellexposed in many outcrops as well as oil and gas fields. For rudist-bearingcarbonates in the subsurface, knowledge of rudist morphology and mode of occurrencemust be derived from observation of drillcores; however, understanding thethree-dimensional (3D) geometry of rudists from observation of core surfaces isdifficult. In paleontological studies of rudists, X-ray computerized tomography (CT)scans have been carried out to reconstruct the inside texture of rudist shells forthe purpose of taxonomic research. In contrast, in the oil and gas industry,application of X-ray CT scanning technology is generally focused on directmeasurement of reservoir properties. Studies of rudist fossils within drillcores bymeans of X-ray CT have not yet been conducted. We have developed a new protocol toobserve core interiors using X-ray CT. We obtained high-resolution 3D images ofrudists in a drillcore by means of surface rendering, volume rendering, and 3Dprinting. X-ray CT and 3D modeling is a novel method for non-destructive analyses ofthe morphology and mode of occurrence of fossils within drillcores.