Porosity‐formation factor and porosity‐velocity relationships in Barbados prism

Abstract

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 171A collected logging while drilling (LWD) data to investigate the porosity and velocity structure of Barbados accretionary complex. Porosity and velocity measurements were needed for interpretation of prism dynamics. However, the LWD tool string did not measure velocity, and previous velocity data from Barbados prism are scarce and generally of low quality. Furthermore, most density‐based porosities are subject to errors associated with variations in smectite content. To determine porosities more accurately, we use smectite‐corrected, density‐based porosities to calibrate a porosity‐formation factor (FF) transform, then calculate porosities from resistivity logs. We used cation exchange capacity (CEC) measurements and LWD logs to evaluate the possibility that resistivity is affected by clay conduction. The CEC data warn of potential clay conduction, especially in smectite‐rich zones, but LWD data indicate that clay conduction is minor in these high‐porosity sediments. Instead, tortuosity is the secondary control of FF, after porosity. By comparing resistivity‐based porosities to velocities from vertical seismic profiles, we determine a porosity‐velocity transform applicable to Barbados. We then use this transform to calculate velocity logs from resistivity‐based porosity logs.