Cesar Escalante Alvarez

1. DIPS PROGRAM

The DIPS program was designed by the Rock Engineering Group of the Department of
Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. DIPS is designed for interactive analysis of the
orientation of geological databases. The program is capable of many applications and is
designed for the beginner and occasional user, and for the experienced user in projections
stereographic for those who wish to use more advanced tools in geological data analysis.

Figure 1. Program interface

The DIPS comes equipped with sufficient functionality to provide solutions to the most complex issues.
problems in the fields of Earth science or Engineering requiring database analysis
of orientation. The DIPS has obvious applications in the fields of:

Stability/instability investigations in mining or work operations

Dips has a spreadsheet interface allowing for the entry of geological data.
do it in an easy way.

Proceed to run the program, we will go to the start menu and look for the Dips.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

When we open the program, it will show us this screen and we will click on the New option in the corner.
top left.

It will immediately show us the spreadsheet to enter the geological data. In file
new and the spreadsheet is displayed.

Spreadsheet for data entry.

It is worth noting that the data can be entered in different types of formats when opening a file.
new by default this format will be found in Dip / Dip Direction which means Inclination /
Bending Direction, we will see the other formats later in Configuration of
orientation format.

Additionally, in this spreadsheet, by right-clicking, it is possible to add new columns to

Likewise, with the new columns created, we can generate statistical analyses of them.
columns, such as: spacing, opening, filling, continuity, roughness, etc.

All the input information from the geological data can be represented through graphs.
for your better understanding.

1.2. Analysis of feature distribution

The Query Data option is located in the Analysis menu bar, it allows
to the user create questions to search for some subset of data in a Dips file (It's like
a filter to direct what one wants to see). If the query is successful, a new file
Dips would be generated immediately and a new grid view would display the selected data.

Note: the data we will see below is taken from an example called
EXAMPPIT.DIPS6 located in the DIPS 6.0 folder found in the installation folder of
program

Now we will go to the ANALYSIS menu bar and click on the Query Data option.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The program will show us the following window, where 3 dropdown bars can be seen, Data,
Operator and Operand. In the data bar, it shows us the columns that our file presents, where
we will choose the feature by which we want to classify our data, in this case it is in
Surface (Superficie), en Operator (==) y en Operand esta Rough (Rugosa).

After identifying the characteristic of interest, we will click on Add, it will appear in the part
we select the characteristic with its operator and operand, we click on Ok.

The program will generate another query file with the classified information of what we want.
observe, like this:

First of all, it is observed how the program creates another file for us; at the bottom, the ...
two tabs in this case EXAMPPIT which is the original file and Untitled the query file.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

On the right side, we see the source file with all the geological data and on the side
on the left is the query file and we see that its data is limited to showing all those who
they have SURFACE (Surface) ROUGH (Rough) which was the characteristic that previously
we chose.

Chart

The Chart option is located in the Analysis menu bar, it allows the user to create
histograms, line graphs or pie charts based on the data from a column in a file
Dips as we will see below:

We will locate ourselves in the ANALYSIS menu bar and click on the Chart option.

The program will show us the following window where a dropdown bar can be observed that will allow
choose the column or feature we want to graph, and we will also mark whether the feature
it is quantitative or qualitative and the type of chart that the user prefers.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The characteristic SPACING was chosen, which is quantitative, and we will select the three types of graphs.
Column, Line, and Pie and we will click on Ok. It will show us the corresponding graphs.

In column

Line
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

Standing

Info Viewer (Information to the viewer).

This option generates a list of all the relevant information from the file from the amount of
polls up to the results of the kinematic analyses.

To locate this tool we will go to the menu bar ANALYSIS and click on the
Info Viewer option.

It will immediately show us a sheet where we can see all the relevant information.
file we have open. In addition, it can be observed on the left all the information that the
the file is showing us this:
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The software will instantly hide the information that we do not want to be displayed.
file. Also, if the user is positioned below the table, the program allows modification of the
visual preferences of information.

[Link] Management

In the FILE menu bar, we can find the options new, open, save, save as,
close and also to print, and if the user wishes to modify the page settings; the
margins, orientation, and page size.

If you want to save, open a file, close the file, print, and even modify the
characteristics of the page we will go to the menu bar FILE where it will allow us to do
any of these options. Additionally, at the end of the bar, it shows us the files that
we have recently opened, either to quickly locate the file in which the user has
I have been working, streamlining the process.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

1.4. Orientation format configuration

The Dips program allows the user to change the orientation format, which leads to being able to
set the mode for entering geological data into the spreadsheet, this option Project
Settings is located in the ANALYSIS menu bar.

In order to modify this orientation format, we will go to the ANALYSIS menu bar and we will make
click on the Project Settings option.

The program will show us the following window that will display a global dropdown bar.
Orientation Format that will allow us to select the type of format we want, among these is the
the most used format is Dip/Dip Direction (Bedding/Dipping Direction), Strike (Right)/Dip
(Considering the right hand and the dip), Strike (Left)/Dip (Considering the hand
left and the dip) and Trend/Plunge (Direction and inclination, Used for lines). Knowing which
Choosing will depend on how the user collected the geological data in the field or if they obtained the data.
of another person but this one prefers to have them in a different format since the program allows this
option.

When opening a new file, the standard orientation format is Dip/Dip Direction and it is observed
in the data table in this way:

So we will go to the previous box and locate the Strike (Right)/Dip option and we will do
click enok.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The program will immediately change the orientation format in the data table:

When we select the Declination option, the program will display a brief description and it is more than
everything to correct the azimuth taken if in the given case they were affected by declination
magnetic, which is the angle formed between geographic north and magnetic north.

1.5. Stereographic Projection

The main forms of data visualization in Dips are the various plotting options.
available in the menu bar VIEW: Vector Plot, Symbolic Plot
Symbolic), Scatter Plot, Contour Plot (Contour plot), Major planes Plot (Major planes plot)
main plans), Rosette Plot, Pole / Dip Vector Mode, Terzaghi Weighting
(Terzaghi weighting). The contour plot can also be seen superimposed with one of
the other outlines.

(See note 1)

Vector Plot

Once we are located in the spreadsheet where the geological data has been entered, we go to the
top right of the toolbar where we will find the Vector Preset option
(Vector Plot) we will click on this option.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The program will show us the stereographic chart where the projection of the poles will be found.
of the discontinuities that we have entered previously, in this way:

When in this window, you can find this option Vector Plot in the menu bar VIEW
here

Symbolic Plot

This option is used to show a symbolic representation of some feature in

To locate this option, we will go to the VIEW menu bar and click on Symbolic Plot.

The program will show us the following screen:

SURFACE, at the bottom it shows us the types of surfaces for which

The program will perform a classification according to the characteristic that the user chose,
showing the poles in this way:
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

As we see in the image, the software classified in this case the poles according to their SURFACE.
(SURFACE) whether polished, rough, slick, smooth or [Link]
(very rough) giving each characteristic a symbol, whether it be a circle, a cross, etc., in the
On the right side, you can observe the number of poles that each of the
characteristics.

Scatter Plot

This scatter plot allows the visual analysis of the distribution of poles by the symbols that
they represent the number of approximately coincident poles in a given orientation.

To find this option, we will go to the menu bar VIEW and click on Scatter.
Plot.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The software will show us the following image on the stereonet:

It can be observed in the image that each circle represents a certain number of poles, and that
the larger the circle, the greater the number of poles with similarities it will represent
guidelines.

Contour Plot

A contour plot is the main tool of Dips for the analysis of concentrations.
averages and/or maxima of poles. It is used to visualize the grouping of orientation data
not immediately evident from a pole graph or a scatter plot. The
Outlines represent statistical concentrations of poles.

We will locate ourselves in the VIEW menu bar and click on the Contour Plot option.
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The program will show us the following contour graph on the stereonet:

In this we can see the concentration of poles by colored regions, graduated from the color
red, higher concentration, to the white, lower concentration, with this tool makes more
it is easy to identify the families of discontinuities

Major Planes Plot

The Major Planes Plot option in Dips allows the user to see the main planes in a
empty stereoneta, without poles or contours.

To locate this option, we will go to the VIEW menu bar and click on the option.
Major Planes Plot.

By clicking on this option, the program will show us the main plans and the plans of the
families that we have added earlier, like this:
Cesar Escalante Alvarez

The graphic shows the layout of a family and the layout of a slope. In order to better identify
these main plans the software has the option to show them alone, in addition to providing a
description of them in the legend to the right of the stereonet.

Rosette Plot

The conventional rosette layout begins with a horizontal plane, represented by the equator.
(exterior) circle of the stereography. A radial histogram (with arc segments instead of
bars) is covered in this circle, indicating the density of planes intersecting this face
horizontal. The limits of the radial orientation (azimuth) of the arc segments correspond to
the bearing ranges of the plane or group of planes being represented by the segment.

Pole/Dip Vector Mode: Pole vector Mode

Clicking on these options will show us the following graphs: