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The contribution of geostatistics to the

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ARTICLE in ENGINEERING GEOLOGY SEPTEMBER 2012
Impact Factor: 1.74 DOI: 10.1016/j.enggeo.2012.03.015

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Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Engineering Geology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enggeo

The contribution of geostatistics to the characterisation of some bimrock properties

N. Coli, P. Berry, D. Boldini , R. Bruno
Department of Civil, Environmental and Material Engineering (DICAM), University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131, Bologna, Italy

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 15 October 2010
Received in revised form 28 December 2011
Accepted 24 March 2012
Available online 1 April 2012
Keywords:
Bimrock
Image analysis
Geostatistical analysis
Variogram
Correlation
Santa Barbara mine

a b s t r a c t
This paper introduces a geostatistical approach for characterising the morphological and spatial variability of
rock inclusions in bimrocks and for attempting their direct mechanical characterization through an indirect
description deduced by image analysis of outcrop images.
The study was carried out on the ShaleLimestone Chaotic Complex (SLCC) bimrock, which is affected by
several slope stability problems in the disused Santa Barbara open-pit mine (Tuscany, Italy). Due to its
complex heterogeneity, the mechanical characterization of SLCC was based on a limited number of nonconventional shear tests (BimTests).
Due to the relevant inuence of rock inclusions on bimrock strength, the study focused on identifying the
possible image parameters characterising content and variability of rock inclusions in each sampled picture.
A two-step analysis was carried out for: a) identication of an image parameter (centimetric scale) that is
able to grasp some property of rock fragment shape and size spatial distribution; b) verication of the
correlation at the outcrop scale (multimetric scale) between the bimrock strength parameters and the new
regionalised variables (ReV) describing image properties related to rock fragment distribution. A
geostatistical approach was adopted for both steps, but applied to two different problems, at two different
scales, with different variables.
An extensive sampling of outcrop pictures was carried out and a variogram analysis was performed on the
rock fragment indicator variable, IB (x, y), dened at the image scale, and obtained through the digital
segmentation of the collected pictures. A very good link was observed between the geostatistical model
parameters and the content, size and spatial variability of rock fragments shown in every picture.
The values of the total sill of the block indicator variograms were then assumed as a new ReV, Ctot (x, y),
dened all over the SLLC outcrop. A cross-covariance was computed between the variogram total sill and the
friction angle, (x, y) and cohesion c (x, y), at the scale of the whole outcrop area and a preliminary analysis
showed a likely correlation.
2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Bimrocks (Medley, 1994; Medley and Lindquist, 1995; Medley,
2002, 2007) are complex formations characterised by competent rock
inclusions oating in a weaker matrix. Due to their complex structure,
they always represent a challenging engineering problem: the
mechanical behaviour of bimrocks, in fact, is governed by the
interaction and the geometrical properties of rock inclusions
(Lindquist, 1994; Lindquist and Goodman, 1994; Goodman and
Ahlgren, 2000; Kim et al., 2004; Sonmez et al., 2004a, 2006a). For
this reason, the mechanical characterisation of bimrocks must be
preceded by the investigation of the morphological and spatial
variability of rock fragments.

Corresponding author. Tel.: + 39 0512090233; fax: +39 051 2090247.

E-mail address: daniela.boldini@unibo.it (D. Boldini).
0013-7952/$ see front matter 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2012.03.015

Several methods can be employed for this purpose, from the

interpretation of scanlines and boreholes to the analysis of digital
images and physical sieving.
1D method, based on the interpretation of scanlines and
boreholes, although being one of the most used techniques, allows
investigating mainly the volumetric percentage of rock inclusions, by
assuming it to be stereologically equivalent to its cumulative linear
proportion. As a consequence, this approach is heavily affected by the
amount of available sampling data (Haneberg, 2004).
3D sieving can be easily performed at the laboratory scale, but for
larger volumes it becomes cumbersome and very expensive. Moreover, this technique only investigates the volumetric content and the
grain-size distribution of rock inclusions, but not their morphological
and spatial variability.
On the other hand, the use of 2D digital image processing for
characterising rock masses and ornamental stones is well known to
provide satisfactory results. This technique, in fact, ensures a
relatively fast, non-destructive and inexpensive way for studying a
variety of morphological properties, which can be described and

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N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

quantied through synthetic indexes. These indexes, when correlated

with the results of laboratory or in-situ mechanical tests, can be very
helpful for an indirect and quick estimation of specic rock mass
mechanical properties (Hagerman et al., 1980; Dougherty and Pelz,
1991; Horgan, 1998; Persson, 1998; Coster and Chermant, 2001; Yue
et al., 2003; Chen et al., 2004; Lebourg et al., 2004; Bruno and
Focaccia, 2009).
The present study was carried out on the ShaleLimestone Chaotic
Complex (SLCC) bimrock, outcropping over a wide slope in the
disused Santa Barbara (SB) open-pit mine (Tuscany, Italy). The
investigated domain is a surface S encompassing the SLCC outcrop
exposure at the SB mine, for a total extension of 345,000 m 2.
The mechanical characterization of SLCC was previously carried
out by a few in situ shear tests (BimTests).
Subsequently, a photographic sampling of 2 m 2 m outcrop
pictures was carried out with the aim of extracting one or more
synthetic indexes to be correlated with strength experimental
values. Such potential correlation is possible only by a geostatistical
spatial cross-covariance analysis, due to the fact that the variables
are not referred to the same location on the outcrop, i.e. are not
isotopic.
Through image analysis it is possible to investigate several
properties of rock inclusions, for instance: statistical distribution of
the maximum observable dimensions (dmod) (Medley, 1994), statistical shape distribution, and spatial variability of useful parameters.
The present research rst introduces a geostatistical approach for
the characterization of the 2D spatial distribution of SLCC rock
fragments at the scale of the 4 m 2 image, by studying the regionalized
variable indicator of the presence/absence of fragments, IB (x, y),
derived by digital processing of outcrop pictures. The 2D spatial
variability of rock inclusions was characterised and modelled, and a
value of a specic synthetic parameter deduced by the geostatistical
model, Ctot, was assigned to each picture.
In the second geostatistical study the synthetic parameter was
considered a ReV over the SLCC eld, Ctot (x, y), and its spatial
correlation with the SLCC strength parameters was studied.
In the following, a rst attempt to quantify and validate the
possible correlations between the scarce direct information from the
in situ shear test data, and the large indirect information from the
synthetic image parameters is also presented.
2. The SLCC and the Santa Barbara open-pit mine
The SLCC is a mlange of the Northern Apennine orogenic chain.
Its genesis is commonly associated with a gravitational accumulation
of material derived from dismembered formations, and originated
from huge submarine mass movements (olistostromes) that took
place during the Oligo-Miocene era (Castellucci and Cornaggia, 1980;
Abbate et al., 1981; Boccaletti et al., 1996). Recent advances in the
geological comprehension of the Northern Apennines mountain
chain, however, interpret the SLCC as a tectonic mlange (i.e.
tectonosome), that originated from the in-place dismemberment of
pre-existing formations due to the overthrusting of tectonic nappes
during the Apennine orogenetic phases (Boccaletti et al., 1996;
Bonini, 1999).
The SLCC is characterised by a mixture of a highly tectonised dark
grey clayey matrix with calcareous fragment inclusions of various
sizes. The clayey matrix, a typically structured over-consolidated clay,
is subdivided into centimetre and millimetre thin lens-like laminae
along pervasive and polished ssility planes (Pini, 1999). The
calcarenite and calcilutite fragments are distributed throughout the
clayey matrix without any apparent preferred orientation in a typical
block-in-matrix fabric (Figure 1).
The exhausted SB mine, owned and operated by ENEL S.p.A until
1994, is located in Tuscany, Italy, on the Western side of the Valdarno
Superiore Basin, approximately 30 air km South-East of the city of

Fig. 1. Typical aspect of the SLCC bimrock. The light-grey calcareous blocks are
embedded in the clayey matrix according to a matrix-supported fabric.

Firenze. The mine, which encompasses an area of 15 km 2, is currently

undergoing a full reclamation programme. The mining of the lignite
produced a wide slope in the SLCC, with a maximum height of about
180 m. During mining, the slope underwent several mass movements
and rotational landslides, which are in part still active today (D'Elia
et al., 1984, 1986, 1988; Esu and D'Elia, 1990; D'Elia, 1993; D'Elia
et al., 1993).
3. The bimrocks
The term bimrock was introduced by Medley (1994) in order to
describe, from a geomechanical point of view, structurally complex
formations made up of a mixture of competent and multi-size rock
fragments embedded in a weaker matrix. The term bimrock has no
genetic signicance and it refers to a wide variety of geological
formations like mlanges, fault gouges, debris and glacial tills
(Medley, 2002; Medley and Wakabayashi, 2004).
3.1. Block/matrix threshold
The possible inuence of a rock fragment of size r on the overall
mechanical behaviour of a bimrock is strictly controlled by the scale
of the engineering problem under investigation. Given a scale of
interest, some rock fragments, in fact, can be so small compared to the
scale of the investigated problem that they have no practical
inuence on the strength of the bimrock, and they can be considered
as part of the matrix itself.
The threshold below which rock fragments are assumed to have
negligible inuence on the overall bimrock strength is dened as the
block/matrix threshold (B/M) (Medley, 1994, 2001, 2002).
Medley (1994, 2002) and Medley and Lindquist (1995) proposed
to estimate the B/M as 5% of Lc, where Lc is a linear dimension
corresponding to a characteristic dimension of the engineering
problem under investigation. Lc can be the average thickness of a
sliding body (Medley and Sanz Rehermann, 2004), the extension of a
dam foundation (Goodman and Ahlgren, 2000), the dimension of an
in-situ test specimen (Xu et al., 2007) or a fraction of a tunnel
diameter (Button et al., 2004).
It is important to keep in mind that in the present paper the term
rock inclusions and rock fragments are used to indicate all the

N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

calcareous fragments regardless of their size, while blocks indicates

only the rock fragments above the B/M.
At the scale of the 2 m 2 m image window adopted in the rst
part of the present study. The rule of 5% Lc yields a B/M of 0.1 m (5% of
2 m edge size), while it yields a B/M of 0.01 m at the scale of the
BimTests performed in the SB mine, and briey described later in
Section 6.1 (Coli et al., 2011).
In the present study, however, the geostatistical analysis at the
scale of images was performed on the whole population of rock
fragments visible on the sampling picture and, therefore, the results
are not affected by the choice of different B/Ms.

3.2. Properties of rock inclusions

Several studies on Franciscan complex
indicated that the size distribution of the
dimension of rock fragments (dmod) follows
given by Eq. (1) (Medley, 1994; Medley
Riedmuller et al., 2001; Medley, 2002):

Nr

mlanges (California)
maximum observable
a negative power law
and Lindquist, 1995;

where N is the relative frequency of fragments with a linear

dimension greater than r and the exponent D is the fractal dimension
(Mandelbrot, 1983; Turcotte, 1997). The latter is equal to 1.2 for the
Franciscan Mlange (Medley, 1994).
One of the most important properties of a power law distribution
is self similarity, i.e. the invariance of fractal dimension D regardless
of the scale of observation.
However, it is important to remark that for the size distribution of
natural objects there are lower and upper limits to the validity of
scale independency (Turcotte, 1986, 1997). In recent studies, in fact,
some authors indicate that a power law distribution may not be valid
across the entire range of particle sizes (Filgueira et al., 2006), and
that, within the same grain size distribution, multiple scale domains
may exist with different fractal dimensions (Millan et al., 2003).
The dmod size distribution for the SLCC rock inclusions, at the 4 m 2
scale of the sampling window, also resulted in following a negative
power-law distribution with an average fractal dimension D of 1.55
(Figure 2) (Coli et al., 2008, 2009).
Studies carried out on outcrop pictures of the same SLCC
formation, but in different locations in the Northern Apennines,
indicated that, at the scale range of 29 m, the spatial arrangement of
rock fragments was well described by a positional dependant powerlaw, based on the cantor and the Sierpinsky fractal models, with a
fractal dimension DH varying between 1.737 and 1.745 (Catani and
Fanti, 1996; Catani, 1999).

Fig. 2. dmod size distribution of the SLCC bimrock at the 4 m2 scale of investigation.

55

4. The use of image analysis for bimrock characterisation

The 2D image analysis of bimrock inclusions, although not
accurate, is widely used in the geoengineering practice.
Medley (1994) and Medley and Lindquist (1995), in order to
calculate the dmod size distribution of rock fragments, used simple
methods of manual contouring on a variety of two-dimensional
sources (images of bimrock outcrop exposures, geological maps).
Sonmez et al. (2004a,b, 2006a,b), in order to investigate the
volumetric proportions of andesite inclusions in the Ankara Agglomerate
performed image classications and node counting on greyscale and
colour pictures of outcrop exposures. They used a supervised image
classication procedure consisting in a training stage, where the
pixel intensity range of each lithotype was determined, followed by a
classication stage where the pixels were categorized into the
constituents. They also used the node-point-counting technique,
where a regular square mesh was overlaid on the pictures and the
underlying material at each node was then visually classied
according to its lithotype. The percentage of each constituent was
then determined by dividing the number of nodes belonging to each
constituent by the total number of intersections of the mesh. The
volumetric proportion obtained from the two methods resulted in
very similar estimations.
Yue et al. (2004) developed a specic digital image processing
technique for the analysis of material inhomogeneities aiming at
modelling inhomogeneous rock failures through numerical codes.
These methods estimate the structures of geomaterials by applying a
multi-threshold algorithm based on edge detection lters. The same
procedure, through contrast enhancement, edge detection and
threshold ltering, was used by Xu et al. (2007) in order to isolate
the blocks above the B/M on cross-section pictures of a soilrock
mixture in the Leaping Tiger Gorge (China).
Catani and co-workers performed the fractal analysis of the rock
fragment indicator variable from binary images of SLCC outcrops
through a box-counting procedure implemented in the GIS ArcInfo
software (Catani and Fanti, 1996; Catani, 1999).
However, the use of 2D images to estimate bimrock 3D
geometrical properties of rock fragments inevitably introduces an
outcrop sampling bias (Haneberg, 2004). The shape and orientation
of the rock inclusions relative to the outcrop exposure, in fact,
determine whether the analysis of the 2D image underestimates or
overestimates the real 3D geometrical parameters.
Nevertheless, this issue is not relevant to our study, which only
aims at verifying whether or not some parameters deduced by image
analysis show a statistically meaningful correlation with the physical
and strength rock properties as measured by the in-situ shear tests.

5. Identication of image parameters related to rock fragments

spatial variability
The dmod approach and the image analysis methods previously
described are very effective in investigating equivalent sizedistribution and volumetric proportion of rock fragments, but they
disregard information such as shape and spatial variability. The
spatial information is, instead, taken properly into account by the
position-dependant Cantor and Sierpinsky fractal models by assuming as a descriptive index the HausdorffBesicovitch fractal dimension DH (Catani and Fanti, 1996; Catani, 1999).
In this study, a variographic analysis of the rock fragment indicator
variable IB (x, y) was performed with the purpose of describing and
quantifying the 2D morphological and spatial variability of the rock
inclusions. The block indicator, IB, was obtained through the digital
segmentation of the sampled pictures, and it expresses the presence
or absence of the calcareous lithology in the two-dimensional domain
of the image.

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N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

The stationary indicator variable I (x, y) of a random set A is

expressed as (Matheron, 1973; Journel and Huijbregts, 1978; Chils
and Delner, 1999):


Ix; y

0 if xA
:
1 if xA

For our purpose, set A represents the calcareous lithology, i.e. the
presence of calcareous rock fragments in the investigated bimrock.
In a binary image each pixel can only assume the values of
0 (black) or 255 (white). The pixel value is a regionalized variable,
which is used to dene an indicator variable, i (x, y), assumed as the
realisation of a random function IB (x, y). The IB (x, y) is here dened
on a punctual support (i.e. the image pixels).
The working scale of this rst geostatistical analysis is the 4 m 2
image area. The area is comparable with the size of the specimens
subjected to a series of non-conventional in situ shear tests (0.8 m by
0.8 m by 0.5 m), which had previously been performed by the authors
at the SB mine (further description of the test is given in Section 6.1).
A 2 m 2 m sampling window was considered a good compromise
between the necessity to encompass the area representative of the in
situ shear specimen and at the same time to account for a slight larger
surface in order to avoid edge-biases and to ensure an easy shooting
of the pictures from the ground.
5.1. Sampling technique
The rst step of the study was the selection of an appropriate
photographic sampling methodology of the SLCC outcrop surface S. In
general, the best sampling technique is the regular mesh sampling,
but, due to the impossibility of physically reaching some areas of the
investigated domain, the stratied sampling technique (SST) was
adopted. In fact, for a given number of samples, the SST represents the
best approximation of the regular mesh (optimal) sampling. The SST
works by subdividing the investigated domain into several nonoverlapping subsets (strata), and by random choosing the sample
location inside each stratum.
The investigated domain was subdivided into 68 square cells, each
encompassing an area of 5000 m 2, which represents about 1.5% of the
outcrop surface s. Inside each cell, a picture encompassing an area of
4 m 2 of the SLCC outcrop was taken at a random position (Figure 3).
Only 40 of the 68 cells were sampled, because 18 cells were
discarded due to the inaccessibility of the area or excessive vegetation
cover.
The pictures were shot by using a Sony DSC-800 digital reex
camera with 8 megapixel resolution, which ensures a high image
resolution and a quick transfer of pictures from camera to PC for the
image processing.
In order to account for lens and angular distortion, an aluminium
square frame of 2 m 2 m was assembled, placed on the ground and
centred in the camera's eld of view. Pictures were taken as
perpendicularly as possible to the exposed surfaces and then digitally
rectied and cropped to the 2 m 2 m frame in order to restore the
exact angular and linear proportions (Figure 4).

Fig. 3. Simplied geological map of the investigated area at the SB mine. The map
shows the stratied sampling grid, the location of pictures and of the BimTests.

5.2. Digital image processing

The term digital image processing (DIP) refers to the modications that can be made to a digital image (DI) using a computer. A DI
can be expressed as a discrete two-dimensional function f(x, y) where
x and y are spatial coordinates and the value of f at any pair of
coordinates (x, y) is the light intensity at that point. For a
monochromatic grey-scale image, the intensity values are integers
which dene the grey level for each pixel by assuming integer values
between 0 f(x, y) 255.

Fig. 4. Cropped and orthorectied picture of an SLCC outcrop exposure.

N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

57

Fig. 6. Binary image representing the fragment indicator variable IB (x, y).

grey level which maximizes the sum of the entropies of the two sets U
and V:
T ArgMax fHU H V g
T0;255
8
19
! 0
T
255
<
X
X
pj
pj =
pi
pi
@
ln
ln A
ArgMax

:
P
PT
P
PT ;
i0 T
j1T T
Fig. 5. Linear plot of grey intensity values (a) along the AB scanline of the image (b).
The high intensity contrast at the edges of the block produces abrupt variations of grey
levels.

Since the main difference between calcareous fragments and the

clayey matrix is related to variations of grey levels (Figure 5), the
SLCC pictures were converted to monochrome 8-bit greyscale images
and processed through contrast enhancement lters (histogram
equalization and histogram stretching).
An image segmentation procedure was then used in order to
obtain binary images where calcareous fragments (foreground) are
isolated from the matrix (background).
Segmentation is performed by studying the variations of grey
intensity in the input image and by applying a threshold (T) to the
image histogram: all pixels with an intensity lower than the
threshold are set at 255 (white) while the others at 0 (black)
(Sahoo et al., 1988; Glasbey, 1993; Nikhil and Sankar, 1993; Coster
and Chermant, 2001; Gonzalez and Woods, 2001):


gx; y


0
f x; yTx; yA
:
255 f x; ybTx; yA

As a consequence, the binary image can be interpreted as a

realisation of an indicator variable describing the presence or absence
of calcareous fragments constituting set A: IB(x, y) (Figure 6).
A supervised maximum entropy threshold algorithm was used for
the image segmentation (Kapur et al., 1985; Sahoo et al., 1988). The
algorithm performs the histogram thresholding on the basis of
entropy considerations: the optimal threshold T is dened as the

where H(U) and H(V) are the entropy equations associated with each
distribution, p is the probability distribution of grey levels, T the
T
P
threshold value and P T
pi .
i0

This method is very effective on randomly distributed objects over

a rather uniform background.
Some artefacts introduced by segmentation were successively
removed by applying mathematical morphology lters (Serra, 1982)
to remove isolated pixels and lling holes.
The open-source software ImageJ (NIH, 2004) was used for the
entire digital image processing.
5.3. Structural analysis of block indicator
In order to investigate the spatial variability of the IB (x, y),
experimental variograms were calculated on the binary images along
the directions of 0 and 90, assuming lags (h) ranging between
0.005 m and 1 m (Figure 7). The open-source GIS software ILWIS
(NorthPole) was used for the calculation of experimental
variograms.
The experimental variograms were tted by nested structure
models by means of a Visual Basic macro library of DICAM, developed
for Microsoft Ofce. The nested models take into account both an
omnidirectional component of spatial variability and/or a geometrical
anisotropy, when they assume different ranges along different
directions maintaining a constant sill.
The tted structures of Fig. 8, for example, show a clear
geometrical anisotropy: the NS component (90) has a larger range
compared to the EW one (0) and, in fact, the black features of the
binary image are elongated towards the direction between 45 and
70. In Fig. 9, instead, a substantial isotropy can be observed.

58

N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

Fig. 8. a) Binary image IB (x, y); b) experimental and model indicator variograms with
nested structures along the directions of 0 and 90.
Fig. 7. a) Example of a binary SLCC image which can be interpreted as the realisation of
the indicator variable IB (x, y) (black features: calcareous fragments, white background:
matrix); b) experimental variograms calculated along the directions of 0 and 90.

5.4. Signicance of geostatistical indexes

Variogram models are described by the sum of several elementary

structures, each one being identied by a different function type and
by specic parameters (sill, range, period).
The IB (x, y) variograms show a very interesting feature: every
variogram is always characterised by three common elementary
structures, with constant range a and variable sill C (Figure 10):
1. A spherical model at a small scale, always isotropic, with a constant
range of about 8 mm;
2. A rst exponential model for medium scale variability, always
isotropic, with a range between 11 and 15 mm;
3. A second exponential model for large scale variability, with a range
between 30 and 300 mm. This model sometimes shows a
geometric anisotropy.
Moreover, some of the nested variograms also show a slight
periodicity, which, when relevant, was modelled with a hole effect or
a periodical model.
The characteristic parameters of the elementary models for all
analysed images are listed in Table 1.

The properties of the elementary models describing the variability

of IB (x, y) can be referred to the spatial and morphological properties
of rock fragments.
Given the initial denition of the block indicator variable, IB (x, y),
it follows that:
the range a is correlated with the average size of fragments;
the sill C is linked to the percentage of calcareous lithology on the
image, being the variance of the indicator: I2 = p(1 p);
the variogram geometrical anisotropy is correlated with the
anisotropy of the iso-oriented shape of fragments;
the periodicity T is a function of the average local distance between
the fragments and, therefore, it is only evident when, at the scale of
investigation, the inclusions are arranged according to a regular
pattern of spatial distribution.
Due to these properties, the three elementary models of the
indicator variable, IB (x, y), can be interpreted as follows (Figure 11,
Table 1):
the spherical model takes into account the shape and spatial
variability of the very small calcareous fragments (set 1); it
expresses more than one-quarter of the total variability (total sill);

N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

59

Fig. 10. a) IB (x, y) experimental and nested variograms and b) elementary models.

6. Spatial correlation between strength and image parameters

6.1. Strength data by in situ tests

Fig. 9. a) Binary image IB (x, y); b) experimental and model indicator variograms with
nested structures along the directions of 0 and 90.

the 1st exponential model refers to the variability of small

inclusions, with an average size of about 1 cm (set 2); it takes into
account about one-quarter of the total variability;
the 2nd exponential model expresses the variability of medium to
large fragments, with an average size between 3 cm and 30 cm (set
3); it represents almost one-half of the total variability.
The presence of geometrical anisotropy is only highlighted for
mediumlarge fragments (2nd exponential model), while it is not
visible for the small ones. The isotropic behaviour of the small-scale
elementary models (spherical and 1st exponential), however, does
not necessarily imply an isotropic shape of the small elements, but
rather that the resolution of the actual working scale doesn't allow for
properly taking into account the shape variability of tiny elements.
The periodical/hole model is seldom observed and it usually has a
low impact given that its sill contributes only 4% to the total
variability. No evidences from eld surveys and geological literature
(cfr Section 2) suggest that this periodicity might be somehow related
to a recurrent systematic internal zonation of the SLCC formation. The
periodical model is more likely to be due to a local arrangement of the
fragments at the scale of the 4 m 2 sampling window with no lateral
continuity. Nonetheless, further multi-scale studies are required in
order to investigate the possible presence of structures representing
internal zonation of the bimrock at the scale of the entire outcrop.

BimTests (Xu et al., 2007; Coli et al., 2011) are non-conventional in

situ shear tests performed by the authors at the SB mine. The testing
procedure (Figure 12), in fact, signicantly differs from the classical in
situ direct shear test (ISRM, 2007), i.e. the shear surface is not forced
to develop along a pre-dened horizontal plane, but rather it is free to
grow in a tortuous way along the rock-matrix contact boundaries. In
addition, no vertical load is applied to the specimen.
The tested specimen has a volume of 0.3 m 3 and a size of 0.8 m
wide by 0.8 m long by 0.5 m high.
Five BimTests were performed at the SB mine in order to
investigate the SLCC strength properties and to correlate them with
the volumetric block content (VBC) inside each specimen. The friction
angle was found to have a good positive correlation with VBC, while
cohesion showed a slight negative correlation with a sudden drop
above a critical VBC threshold of 2025% (Figure 13).
Strength parameters also depend on the BimTest location on the
outcrop surface, that is they are ReV, c (x, y), (x, y), dened on a
support of 0.3 m 3 (the volume of tested specimens).
6.2. The auxiliary variable: total sill
Given the costs and the technical difculties in performing the in
situ tests, it is of signicant interest attempting to correlate the
strength parameters with some parameters characterising each one
of the 4 m 2 sampling windows.
The previous geostatistical analysis identied the parameters (i.e.
a, C) of the nested elementary structures of block indicator
variograms, which quantitatively highlight the spatial variability of
rock fragments at the scale of 4 m 2.
The values of range a are constant all over the eld S, while other
parameters vary among the pictures differently located over the

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N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

Table 1
Parameters of the elementary models.
Picture Spherical

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

Exp I

Exp II

Periodical/
hole

a
C
(mm)

a
C
(mm)

Dir
C
amin
amax
(mm) anis. (mm)
()

3000
1500
3000
1500
4000
1000
1500
3000
3000
2400
3000
300
2600
1500
2500
2400
1900
2400
1400
2000
2000
2200
3000
2200
2200
1700
1800
1000
1800
1500
2500
2100
2400
2000
3000
2100
1800
1800
3100
3000

8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8

11
11
11
18
11
28
13
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
13
11
11
11
11
12

142
40
75
90
70
35
180
65
30
130
100
70
160
120
90
90
110
130
80
110
65
80
100
85
130
55
55
45
45
125
80
120
120
250
100
220
85
120
140
85

1800
1850
3800
2500
2400
2100
2700
2800
1800
1600
4000
1200
3000
2400
1000
1100
1400
1600
2500
2500
2200
1200
4000
2000
1850
800
1000
1100
800
900
2000
2250
2200
3100
2900
2500
2000
2000
2000
2400

4200
700
3350
3900
3400
1200
4800
5500
3700
1600
3300
8600
3400
3000
2500
3000
3000
1600
2900
4100
4900
4400
3300
2200
5300
2100
2500
2100
1850
5000
3700
7300
3200
6100
4950
8000
7800
2900
6000
4000

88

125

65
90
70
24
70
80
85
85
85
80
80
80
85
80
80
85
85
85
85
85
85
5
85
85
85
85
85
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80

40
80
50
120
100
50
25
80
70
50
120
80
75
75
70
80
55
80
55
60
70
70
90
45
50
40
35
70
50
85
70
200
95
150
80
100
120
80

T
(mm)

30

100

2500

770

100

180

200

520

2200 1300
200
350
200
350
2700
350

6500
7800

350
350

Fig. 11. Each of the elementary variograms in b) describes the spatial variability of a
specic dimensional range of the rock fragments in a).

outcrop surface. This is the case of the sills, which can be considered
as ReVs, Ctot (x, y). Moreover, since the total sill, i.e. the sum of sills of
elementary structures, is a function of the 2D fragment content, Ctot
(x, y) = p(1 p), a rst attempt was carried out to verify if the
parameter Ctot is correlated with the strength parameters.
For this reason, a new geostatistical study at the outcrop scale was
performed by calculating the spatial variability of a synthetic
parameter dened on each image: the total sill Ctot (x, y). The
working scale of this second step of the geostatistical study is the
whole investigated domain of the outcrop surface S, and the support
of the new variable Ctot (x, y) is a surface of 4 m 2.
A correlation study usually takes into account variables measured
on the same samples. This would have required pictures to be taken
on the same spots where the BimTest had been performed.
Nevertheless, at the time the SLCC pictures were collected, the
BimTests were already done and, therefore, pictures were only taken
on nearby SLCC outcrops. As a consequence, the samples of the two
variables, strength data and image total sill, are non-isotopic
(samples are not taken at the same locations) and, therefore, any
attempt to study their possible correlation cannot be performed using
the standard statistical and probabilistic techniques (i.e. covariance,
index of correlation, standard regression).

The spatial cross-covariance (C12), instead, is a geostatistical tool

that, in principle, makes it possible to study the correlation of two
non-isotopic variables. If we consider two ReVs, z1(x) and z2(x), as the
realisation of two StRF, Z1(x) and Z2(x), their spatial cross-covariance,

Fig. 12. BimTest scheme. 1) Specimen, 2) frontal steel plate, 3) LVDT transducer, 4) load
cell, 5) hydraulic jack, 6) support plate and holder for the hydraulic jack, and 7) failure
surface.

N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

A correct cross-covariance modelling requires the strict stationarity of both variables, therefore it is necessary to examine their
variograms 1(h) and 2(h) at the working scale of the investigated
domain S.
The variogram 2(h) of Fig. 14 shows the spatial autocorrelation
of Ctot at the scale of the investigated domain S. Beside a marked
nugget effect, the behaviour of variography calls for a spherical model
with a range of 250 m and a sill coherent with the experimental
variance. The stationarity is thus veried at the multi-metric scale. It
is well known that the meaning of the nugget effect can be explained
by several causes, among which a spatial micro-variability, that is a
spatial autocorrelation at a scale smaller than the multi-metric one.
Due to the lack of sufcient c and experimental data, the spatial
auto-correlation of the strength parameters, 1(h), could not be
inferred. However, the omnidirectional spatial cross-covariance C12(h)
was anyway calculated thanks to the higher number of image data (40).

Fig. 13. Correlation of friction angle and cohesion with VBC.

C12(h), expressed by Eq. (5a), can be experimentally computed by

Eq. (5b),
C 12 h EZ 1 x hZ 2 xm1 m2
nc
h
P


C 12 h

i1

z1 xi hz2 xi
nch

5a

5b

m1 m2

where m1, m1 and m2, m2 are, respectively, the mean theoretical

and experimental values of the variables.
The spatial cross-covariance for h 0 coincides with the classical
covariance between two random variables, C12(0) = 12, which can
be roughly inferred by extrapolating C12 at the origin even in case of
non-isotopic variables:


C 12 h0C 12 0 EZ 1 xZ 2 xm1 m2 12 :

61

6.3. Cross-correlograms
Cross-correlograms 12(h) were introduced in order to facilitate
the interpretation of the spatial cross-correlation. Cross-correlograms
are dened as the spatial cross-covariance C12(h) of the reduced
variables Y(x) = [Z(x) (m/)]. They represent a dimensionless measure of the spatial cross-correlation, variable in the interval [+1, 1],
and, therefore, they are much easier to interpret than C12(h).
Experimentally they can be calculated as:
P

nch


12 h

i1

z1 xi hz2 xi
nch

1 2

m1 m2

For the purpose of the present study, the BimTest strength

parameters (i.e. cohesion c and friction angle dened on a support
equal to the BimTest sample volume) represent the rst ReV, c (x, y),
(x, y), while the variogram total sill of the block indicator of each
image represents the second ReV, Ctot (x, y).
Due to the low cost and relative simplicity, the number of
collected images (40) was larger than the number of performed
BimTests (5), thus allowing computing experimental spatial correlations even if a rigorous correlation study would have also required
more data of the rst variable.

Fig.14. Experimental omnidirectional variogram and model variogram of Ctot

calculated over the investigated domain S.

Due to the limited number of BimTests, and to the elongated shape

of the sampled area (Figure 4), the omnidirectional cross-covariances
were computed, by a-priori assuming the isotropy of the spatial
structures; which requires the 12(h) to be an even function.
Before calculating the cross-correlograms, it is of fundamental
importance to verify if there are some anomalous values in the input
variables that might fake the true 12 behaviour. One BimTest
sample shows very different strength parameters compared to the
other test results (Figure 15).
According to Coli et al. (2011) these values are in agreement with
the mechanical behaviour of the bimrock and, in principle, they should
be included. However, in order to verify the stability of the correlation,
the experimental cross-correlograms 12 were calculated by both
including and excluding these suspected anomalous strength values,
which proved to have no inuence on the resulting 12. Also, several
lags h were tested in order to nd a good compromise between the
necessity to study the small distances (smaller lags) and to work on a
statistically meaningful number of z1(x + h), z2(x) pairs (larger lags): a
base lag h of 30 m, with a tolerance of 15 m, was found to be the best
compromise.
The 12 relative to Ctot (Figure 16) shows a clear positive
correlation when h 0 (12 = 0.3 for h = 30), while for c Ctot
(Figure 17) the correlation is negative (12 = 0.38 for h = 30).
These are very interesting results, because they are in agreement with
what was expected given the relationships between the strength
parameters and the physical VBC (Coli et al., 2011). Due to the
insufcient amount of data, the cross-covariance between strength
and image parameters could not be fully modelled on the basis of the
experimental 12 only. Nevertheless, the likely existence of a
positive/negative correlation, probably at a scale b100 m, between
the total sill of the block indicator and the in-situ strength parameters
is quite evident.

62

N. Coli et al. / Engineering Geology 137138 (2012) 5363

Fig. 15. Correlation between the c and strength parameters obtained through the
BimTests.

7. Conclusions
In the present work a propaedeutic analysis was carried out aimed
at improving the morphological and mechanical characterization of a
bimrock by exploiting the information made available by image
sampling of the outcrop surface.
The study was developed in two stages; a rst geostatistical
analysis on binary images was performed to identify parameters
which are able to describe some properties of spatial and morphological variability of rock fragments. A second geostatistical analysis
was then performed to study the possible correlation between the
experimental in-situ strength data and the index total sill
previously identied on the images.
The following conclusions can be drafted:
the geostatistical analysis of the images well characterises the
spatial distribution of bimrock rock fragments. The variogram
models of the rock fragment indicator IB allowed identifying a
number of indexes (range a, sill C, period T) that quantitatively and
synthetically express some essential properties of the morphological and spatial variability of fragments. Moreover, the proposed
approach appears to be of general interest for the 2D investigation
of bimrocks;
one of the geostatistical parameter identied on the images, i.e. the
total sill Ctot of the block indicator, is eligible to be considered a ReV,
expressing rock fragment meaningful properties all over the
investigated eld. As a consequence, a geostatistical correlation
study with the strength values obtained by in-situ shear tests (e.g.
BimTests) was carried out. A preliminary cross-covariance analysis,
possible also in case of non-isotopic variables (the strength

Fig. 17. c Ctot omnidirectional cross-correlogram, the base lag h is 30 m. For h 0

12 shows a clearly negative correlation (12 0.38).

parameters and the Ctot) highlighted the likely presence of a

meaningful correlation at the multi-metric scale;
this study and its preliminary results justify the pursuit of the
research aimed at improving the direct geotechnical characterization of bimrocks by auxiliary variables deduced by image analysis, a
cheaper and faster tool compared to an extensive campaign of in
situ mechanical testing. An immediate possible improvement for
the correlation study might be the integration of the crosscovariance analysis with a consistent number of new images
taken in the proximity of the BimTest locations. The new data will
conrm the existence of a good correlation at the short scale by
studying their spatial cross-correlogram. This work is a rst step
towards the further investigation required to get a condent and
operational tool and procedure for improving the geotechnical
characterization of bimrocks by simple image sampling.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Edmund Medley for his
support provided during the development of the present research
and the revision of the manuscript. The authors are also very
appreciative of the reviewer Dr. Bill Haneberg and of the second
anonymous reviewer for their contributions.

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Fig. 16. Ctot omnidirectional cross-correlogram, the base lag h is 30 m. For h 0

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