Course Guide

for Leapfrog Structural Modelling –

Stereonet Tools
2023.1

This course guide was developed using Leapfrog 2023.1. If you are using a different version
of Leapfrog, some features may not be available or may work differently from what is
described in this guide. Guides and courses are regularly updated. To see the latest, visit
Seequent Learning Centre and search the catalogue for Leapfrog Structural Modelling Tools.

Seequent, The Bentley Subsurface Company

Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2
1.1.1 Welcome to the Course.......................................................................................... 2
1.1.2 What are Stereonets? ............................................................................................ 3
1.1.3 Stereonets in Leapfrog ........................................................................................... 6
1.2 Building a Stereonet in Leapfrog ................................................................................... 7
1.2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 7
1.2.2 TASK: Preparing the Project .................................................................................. 7
1.2.3 TASK: Creating a New Stereonet .......................................................................... 8
1.2.4 Stereonet Options .................................................................................................. 9
1.2.5 TASK: Adding Structural Data to a Stereonet ...................................................... 11
1.2.6 Data Display Options ........................................................................................... 13
1.2.7 TASK: Export a Stereonet .................................................................................... 16
1.2.8 TASK: Viewing a 3D Stereonet in a Scene .......................................................... 17
1.3 Structural Sub-Domaining and Selection .................................................................... 19
1.3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 19
1.3.2 Why Sub-Domain? ............................................................................................... 19
1.3.3 TASK: Making a Selection in the Stereonet ......................................................... 20
1.3.4 TASK: Making a Selection in the Scene .............................................................. 26
1.3.5 Stereonet Statistics .............................................................................................. 32

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Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Welcome to the Course
Objectives
In this session, we will cover Leapfrog’s interactive stereonet tool, which provides the
capability to interpret complex structural data sets through stereographic projection.

By the end of the course you will understand how to:

• Create and add data to a stereonet in Leapfrog
• Use visualisation and analysis options
• Use 2D and 3D selection of structural data
• Use stereonet statistics

Time to Complete
This course will take about 70 minutes to complete.
You can complete the sections all at once, or at your own pace.

Course Data

This course continues to use the 'Castle Hill' sample dataset.

If you are continuing on after completing the previous courses in this learning path, then
please continue to use the sample data you have been working with. If you are starting this
course without completing previous courses, please download the sample data by clicking
on the button below. Once downloaded, unzip the data folder to a convenient location on
your computer. You are also welcome to use your own data if you wish!
Download from -
https://files.seequent.com/training/Data/Leapfrog/LF_Structure_Module2_Stereonets_DATA.
zip

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Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

1.1.2 What are Stereonets?

What are Stereonets?
Stereonets are graphical plots used to examine and analyse two- and three-dimensional
structural geology data.

When first encountered, stereonets can seem rather confusing, but really they are just
another type of graphical plot.
Stereonets do two things that other graphical plots typically cannot:
• they use azimuthal data (i.e. horizontal directions from 0 – 359.99 degrees), and
• they allow for simultaneous plotting of linear and planar structural data on the same
two-dimensional plot.
Stereonets do not represent geographic position, that is, they are not a type of map.
Therefore, data from different locations or depths can be plotted on the same stereonet.

The stereonet's ability to plot data from different locations or depths means that you can use
it to establish 'structural domains' that may or may not correlate spatially.

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Stereonet Projection
One of the keys to understanding stereonets is to appreciate how the structural data are
being presented.

When data are plotted on the stereonet, you are looking at projections where the structural
features and the concave surface of a hemisphere meet. By convention we use a lower
hemisphere, because we measure dip and plunge 'down' from horizontal.

For example, when a lineation is plotted it projects as a point on the stereonet, not a line.
Similarly, a plane meeting the surface of the stereonet produces a line (usually curved).

The adjacent image shows how a lineation of 15/310 would appear as a point on the interior
surface of the stereonet 'bowl'.

When viewed from above (i.e. looking down), the lineation is 15 degrees in from the edge of
the 'classic' 2D stereonet, and in the direction of 310 relative to the centre.

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As well as traditional 2D stereonets, Leapfrog allows you to drag a 3D stereonet 'bowl' into
the scene.

This allows you to simultaneously view your data and the stereonet representation, and is a
very powerful tool.

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1.1.3 Stereonets in Leapfrog

Stereonets in Leapfrog
Having stereonets in Leapfrog means that you can quickly assess all of your structural data
to gain insights, make interpretations, and integrate them into your models.

Leapfrog stereonets are optimised to work with large datasets and support any combination
of mapped, downhole, or declustered structural data. They can be viewed as traditional 2D
stereonets in a separate tab, or as a 3D stereonet in the scene window. Built-in visualisation
options such as contouring and statistics provide the means to discover hidden trends,
relationships and geological structures. An interactive selection and categorisation workflow
makes it easy to classify distinct populations of measurements. The selected regions and
colourings are simultaneously linked with the 3D scene for a wider perspective.

Stereonets can be saved as part of a Leapfrog project for quick recall. Stereonet plots can
be exported in PDF format for use outside of Leapfrog.

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1.2 Building a Stereonet in Leapfrog

1.2.1 Introduction
Introduction
Expected Duration: 30 minutes

Let's build and populate our first stereonet in Leapfrog.

In this section, we will cover:

• Preparing the necessary data

• Creating a new stereonet
• Adding data to a stereonet
• Options available for visualising data in a stereonet

1.2.2 TASK: Preparing the Project

Preparing the Project
First, we will make sure we have the necessary data available.
1. Confirm that you have following data loaded in the project:

• Field_mapping_structures (in the Structural Modelling folder)

• Lineations (in the Structural Modelling folder)
• Structures (under Drillholes in the Drillhole Data folder)
• Geological Map (in the GIS Data, Maps and Photos folder)

2. Drag the three structural datasets into the scene.

Having added these data, we are now ready to make a stereonet to add them to.

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Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

1.2.3 TASK: Creating a New Stereonet

TASK: Creating a New Stereonet
Let's make a first, blank stereonet.
1. In the Structural Modelling folder, right-click on Stereonets and select New Stereonet.
2. Accept the default name and click OK.

The blank stereonet opens in a new tab.

Next, we will look at the stereonet options available.

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1.2.4 Stereonet Options

Stereonet Options
Leapfrog enables you to control the type of stereonet you want to use, although in most
cases the default will be ideal.
Plot Options

The stereonet Plot Options icon ( ) gives access to several useful controls.

Click on each dropdown heading to learn more about the different Plot Options.

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Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

Stereonet Type
Two stereonet types are available:

• equatorial,
• polar.

We are only going to use equatorial stereonets in this course.

Equatorial stereonet Polar stereonet

Projection
Two projections are available for each type of stereonet:

• equal area, and

• equal angle.

The default stereonet is the equal-area Schmidt 'net and this is generally the most
commonly used and easily applicable.

The Schmidt 'net is ideal for initial examination of structural data and for identifying clusters
of similar data.

Equal-area, equatorial stereonet (Schmidt Equal-angle, equatorial stereonet (Wulff

'net) 'net)

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Desample Rate
The desample rate is a value between 0 and 1 that filters-out duplicate or near-duplicate
points from the stereonet. Values less the default 0.5 remove fewer points. Values greater
than 0.5 remove more.

By it's very nature, the desample rate produces only a subtlely different result.

We are going to keep the desample rate at the default value of 0.5, for the remainder of this
course.

Desample rate = 0 Desample rate = 1

Important Note:

The desample rate only removes data from the current stereonet image, it does not delete
any data. Furthermore, all the data will continue to be used in calculations of the stereonet
statistics.

1.2.5 TASK: Adding Structural Data to a Stereonet

TASK: Adding Structural Data to a Stereonet
We are now ready to add structural data to our new stereonet.

1. Click the Add Structural Data button ( ) in the stereonet tab or press CTRL+D.
2. Select the Field_mapping_structures data and click OK.
The Field_mapping_structures data is plotted on the stereonet.

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3. Repeat the process and add the Lineations data and the Drillholes: Structures data.

We can see that the different datasets are plotted in a couple of different ways. Next, we will
explore the different options for displaying data.

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1.2.6 Data Display Options

Data Display Options
Stereonets in Leapfrog have several different options for plotting data that we will explore
now.
The Data Display window
The data display window on the stereonet tab enables control of how the data are displayed.

Display planar structural data as planes

Planar structural data can be plotted as planes (i.e. great circles) on the stereonet using the

Show/Hide Planes button ( ).

You can turn planes on or off from more than one dataset by using the Show/Hide all
Planes button ( ).

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Display as points
Planar structural data and linear structural data can be viewed as points using the

Show/Hide Poles button ( ).

As with planes, you can turn poles on or off for more than one dataset using the Show/Hide
all Poles button ( ).

You can change the default point colour and size here also.

Display as Contours

Large volumes of data are often best displayed contoured, and Leapfrog allows this by using
the Show/Hide Contours button ( ) and the Show/Hide all Contours button ( ).

By default, contour intervals are filled and the colour gradient is reproduced in a
accompanying scale.

Three different contouring methods are available:

• Schmidt (also known as '1% area'),

• Exponential Kamb,
• Kamb.

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Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

The Kamb method is generally preferable and is the most commonly used in dedicated
digital stereonet programs. The Schmidt method is best used on datasets with >400 points
and outliers removed; otherwise it tends to overfit the data.

Data Colour
By default, planes, poles, and contours of the same dataset are assigned a common 'flat
colour' at random.

Data can also be coloured by a related attribute. In this example the different lithological
units in Field_mapping_structures have unique colours attributed to rocktype.

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Categories
If a categorical attribute is defined for a dataset, the different data categories are displayed in
the lower part of the Data Display window, under Category.

Under Category, the different data can be coloured individually and made visible or invisible.

In this example, two data categories have been made invisible and a third (Charter's Bay
Sandstone) changed colour to black.

Important Note:

Only planar structural data can be plotted as planes, for example, bedding, foliations, and
fault planes. Linear structural data can never be plotted as planes.

1.2.7 TASK: Export a Stereonet

TASK: Export a Stereonet
Leapfrog enables you to export a stereonet as an image file.

1. Click on the Export button ( ) or click CTRL+E.

2. Select a location, choose image file type .png, and name it first_stereonet_image.
There are three image file types available to choose from:

• .pdf
• .svg
• .png

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Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

1.2.8 TASK: Viewing a 3D Stereonet in a Scene

TASK: Viewing a 3D Stereonet in a Scene
Stereonets can be viewed within a corresponding scene.

One very useful feature in Leapfrog is the ability to view the

stereonet in 3D along with other data in a scene.

1. Format the stereonet as you wish in the Stereonet tab.

2. In the Stereonet tab, click on the View in scene button ( ) or click CTRL+W.

The 3D stereonet appears within the Scene, with the same formatting that it had in the
Stereonet tab.
Alternatively, you can drag the stereonet into the scene from the Project Tree.

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3. Click on the 3D stereonet in the scene and drag the arrows to resize or reposition the
stereonet.

The 3D stereonet can be also repositioned in the scene by changing the location of the
Centre point in the controls in the lower-right.

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Leapfrog Structural Modelling – Stereonet Tool Course Guide

1.3 Structural Sub-Domaining and Selection

1.3.1 Introduction
Introduction

Expected Duration: 40 minutes

Now that we understand how to make and view a stereonet, we will look at using stereonets
and Leapfrog to analyse our structural data.

We will create two new selections. The first will cover domaining on the stereonet and
validating in the 3D scene, and the second will cover creating a selection in the 3D scene
window and using it as a query in the stereonet.

In this section, we will cover:

• Structural sub-domaining with Leapfrog

• Selecting structural data in the stereonet
• Selecting structural data in the scene
• Stereonet statistics

1.3.2 Why Sub-Domain?

Why Sub-Domain?
To make sense of complex structural data it is important to sub-domain. Sub-domaining
divides your data into geologically significant selections, for example, within discrete fault
blocks.
The importance of sub-domaining structural data is shown in this example from the Gibraltar
Mine in British Columbia, Canada.

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Mineralisation at Gibraltar follows a gently-dipping, regional foliation. However, the local

geology is compartmentalized by major N-S trending faults that control the tilt of the bedrock.

By sub-domaining to within the fault blocks in Leapfrog, the mine geologists refined their
structural and deposit models as shown by the coloured contour intervals in the different
stereonets.

Next, we will examine how to select sub-sets of structural data from a stereonet.

1.3.3 TASK: Making a Selection in the Stereonet

TASK: Making a Selection in the Stereonet
Selections can be created in the stereonet view and then validated and edited in the 3D
scene, allowing for quick identification of structural domains in your project. This stereonet -
scene view interaction allows for easier understanding of spatial and statistical distribution of
data.

For this part of the session, we’re going to look at the Structures dataset.
1. Clear the scene.
2. Add the Structures table back into the scene.
3. Open the Stereonet tab.

4. Drag the Stereonet tab so that it becomes undocked.

5. Display the poles, only.

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6. Click on the colour display dropdown in the stereonet window and select New selection.

7. Set the Source Column to None.

If you select an existing column as the Source Column, you can assign selected points to the
existing categories or create new categories. If you select no Source Column, you need to
define each category manually.
8. Enter the name 'Bedding' and click OK.

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A set of tools for selecting data will be added to the stereonet window.

There are two ways to select data in the stereonet, which can be used in combination:

• Use the polygon tool ( ) to draw around points you wish to select. When you
close the polygon, click inside it to select the points.

• Use the bullseye tool ( ) to select data points one by one or by clicking and
dragging around points.

9. Using the polygon tool ( ), draw around one of the groupings, as shown.
When the points are selected you can use the radio button options to show the
corresponding Fisher statistics for the selected points, or the Bingham analysis.

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10. Continue using the polygon tool to add to the current selection as shown.
11. Toggle between the Fisher and Bingham statistics.
You will notice a significant difference between the two sets of statistics for the selected
data. The use and abuse of Fisher and Bingham statistics is discussed further at the end of
this part of the course.

12. Click on Assign to > Create New Category, and name the new category ' Set 1'.

Set 1 is now subdomained within Structures.

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13. Return to the scene to see the spatial distribution of Set 1.

14. Return to the Stereonet tab and assign the remaining points to as many sets as you
want.
15. Click Save.

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16. Return again to the scene and view the spatial distribution of the different sets.

Now that we know how to select data from the stereonet, we will next look at how to select
structural data from the scene.

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1.3.4 TASK: Making a Selection in the Scene

TASK: Making a Selection in the Scene
Now, we will select structural data from the scene.
1. Clear the Scene, and then add the Geological Map and Field_mapping_structures.
You will notice that we have structural measurements outside of the mapped area. It’s
possible these structural measurements are perfectly valid, but we can categorise the data
to split them out in case it becomes necessary to filter them out later on.

2. Right-click on the Field_mapping_structures table in the project tree and select New
Category Selection.
The first thing to define is the Source Column. If you select an existing column as the
Source Column, you can assign selected data points to the existing categories or create new
categories. If you select < None> for the Source Column, you need to define each category
manually.

3. Select < None> for the Source Column and name the selection Mapped Area.
4. Click OK.

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A set of tools for selecting data appears in the toolbar.

5. Click on the Select structures tool ( ) and paint across the structural data within the
mapped area.
If you make a wrong selection, hold the Ctrl key and re-swipe over it to deselect it.

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You can change the width of the selection tool by clicking on the line width icon ( ) in
the interval selection toolbar. A line width of 100 allows all the data to be selected in a couple
strokes.

6. In the Category Selection window, click Assign to, then Create New Category.
7. In the window that appears, enter the name ' Mapped Area', then click OK.
The selected segments will be assigned as the new category.

8. Hide the Mapped Area points.

9. Click the Select all visible structures icon ( ) to select the remaining points.
10. Assign them to a new category called ' Outside Mapped Area'.
11. Click Save.

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12. Close the Category Selection window.

The structural data can now be viewed in the scene and in the stereonet by where it falls in
relation to the mapped area, as well as by rock type.

Now that the selection has been made, a query can be made on it as well. In this case, we
selected out a particular mapped area, but this tool could also easily be used to select out
erroneous data.

13. Right-click on Field_mapping_structures in the Project Tree and select New Query Filter.

14. Click the Build Query button.

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15. Define the query as follows:

Set Column to Field_mapping_structures.Mapped_Area
Set Test to is.
Set Value to Mapped Area, which is selected by clicking the ... button.
16. Click OK.

17. Name the query 'Mapped Area' and click OK.

18. Return to the Stereonet tab. Hide Structures and make Field_mapping_structures visible.

19. Colour Field_mapping_structures by rock_type.

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20. Using the Query Filter option, view just the structural data that exists in the mapped
area.
In this case, the difference isn’t too significant; the data outside the mapped area is likely
perfectly valid and fine to use. In other situations, though, this would be an effective workflow
for removing problematic or unreliable legacy data, if necessary.
21. Change the Query filter back to None.

That concludes our look at selecting structural data. To finish, we will examine the
descriptive statistics available for structural data and stereonets in Leapfrog.

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1.3.5 Stereonet Statistics

Stereonet Statistics
Leapfrog can automatically calculate descriptive Bingham and Fisher statistics for your
structural data. However, care should be taken when using and interpreting these values,
and it is important to know their limitations.
Click on the dropdown headings below to learn about the stereonet statistics available.

Bingham Mean Plane and Pole

The Bingham mean plane and the corresponding pole (eigenvector 1 = e1) are calculated
and plotted with the Show Bingham mean plane button ( ). The mean plane data, along
with the best fit great circle and the three eigenvectors are available in table form using the

Show Bingham statistics table button ( ).

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Bingham Best Fit Plane

The Bingham best fit plane button ( ) calculates and plots a great circle through the
poles to planes. This great circle represents an imaginary plane more or less perpendicular
to the real planes.

The pole to the best fit plane is e3.

The Bingham best fit plane is the same as the 'profile plane': the ideal cross-section through
a fold, perpendicular to the folded layers and the fold axial plane. The pole ( e3) is the same
as the fold hinge.

Fisher Mean

Fisher mean values are plotted on the stereonet using the Show Fisher Mean button (
). The values are available in a corresponding table using the Show Fisher statistics table

button ( ) or by pressing CTRL+F.

Important Note:

Fisher statistics were developed for 2D polar data where there is a definitive unidirectional
element (e.g., paleomagnetic data). Fisher statistics are not designed to handle more
complex 3D data like planes and poles (i.e. dip and dip direction) or lineation [a horizontal
lineation plunges in both directions].

The robustness of the Fisher mean decreases as planes become steeper. The Fisher mean
is very similar to the Bingham mean when planes are sub-horizontal; often within the spread

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of the data. However, in steeply dipping and folded rocks, the difference between the Fisher
and Bingham means becomes significant and unpredictable.

This problem is demonstrated below using two lithologies from the Field_mapping_structures
dataset. Both lithologies have Bingham mean planes that are sub-horizontal. However, the
Fisher mean is strongly influenced by the steepest dipping layers in the Coleridge Sandstone
producing a misleading mean plane that dips to the south rather than the west.

Caution with Stereonet Statistics

Like any other form of statistics, stereonet statistics in Leapfrog are only useful if the data
used are appropriate. Therefore, it is very important to critically assess and select
comparable and useful datasets: combining datasets that are not complimentary will produce
meaningless statistical values (e.g., averages).

Remember: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

A key part of this critical assessment is consideration of geological (e.g., stratigraphy,

structural domains) and geographic (i.e. spatial) characteristics, and not just numerical
values in the structural data.

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Bingham mean plane and pole for Bingham mean plane and pole calculated
Field_mapping_structures undivided. for each of the lithological units ( rocktype
attribute) in Field_mapping_structures.

Note that two lithological units have Bingham means very different from the rest.

This concludes our look at statistics and how to define appropriate structural domains.

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