Visualizing and Editing 3D Borehole Data in ArcScene By Jennifer Carrell, Illinois State Geological Survey

Quick Start Tutorial

1. Tell ArcCatalog to recognize files with .las extension. In ArcCatalog go Tools > Options > File Types > New Type

2. If necessary, restart ArcScene. Open the file called “3D Borehole

Tools.sxd.” You should see an empty scene with the 3D Borehole Toolbar.

3. Click on the button called “Create_3d_lines.”

4. A form will pop up. The input table is called “borings_logs.dbf.” It

should be located in the folder called “tutorial_data”. Fill out the form as shown below (your input and output folders will be different). Enter your own output shapefile name

Note: your x and y coordinates should be in units that match the coordinate system of the scene.

5. Your output should look similar to the graphic below. Now you are ready to use the other tools on the toolbar.

6. Select the new layer in the table of contents. 7. Using the Select Features arrow, select a borehole feature.

8. Then click the “edit_attributes” button.

6. You will get a message, telling you that your edits will be permanent.

Check the box to not show the message again. Click OK.

9. The “Edit attributes” form pops up.

10. Enter a new value of g for the feature. Click the Save Edit button. 11. Deselect the borehole segment to view the segment symbolized with

its new value.

12. Close the Edit attributes form.

13. Select another borehole segment.

14. click the “edit_xyz” button.

15. A form will pop up showing the current X, Y, and Z coordinate values. Change the top Z value. In the example below, the top Z value was changed from 495 to 500 feet.

16. Click Save Edits. Your feature will be redrawn with new coordinates. Close the Edit Vertices window.

17. Using the same or different selected feature, click the

“Split_line_at_z” button

18. A new form pops up. It gives you the range of elevations you can use to split the feature. In the example below, the borehole line was split at 475 feet.

18. Click OK. Your segment should now be divided into two new segments.

19. Now merge the two segments back again. Using the Select Features

arrow and the shift key, select the two segments.

20. Click the “merge” button. The two segments will be merged back into one.

20. Now you will change the width of the tube symbol used to symbolize the lines. Click the “Symbolize_tubes” button.

21. Enter a new value into the form. Between 100 and 300 is best for

visualization purposes.

22. In the “Field to symbolize” dialog, type “geo” without quotes, if it is not the default value.

23. Click OK. Your tubes will be fatter or skinnier, depending on the thickness you entered.

24. If you have a geophysical log associated with a borehole, you can plot

it along side the borehole line. Select a top segment from the appropriate borehole. For this tutorial’s purposes, it doesn’t matter which borehole you select, as long as it is the top segment.

25. Make sure you have the borehole layer selected. Click the “plot_gamma” button.

26. Fill out the form with the values shown below (your file locations will be different). Enter your own output shapefile name. Click Continue.

27. Click Continue. Your output should be similar to the example below.

http://www.isgs.illinois.edu/