Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

10.

Radioactivity Logging

RADIOACTIVITY LOGGING

10.1 Introduction
Radioactivity is used in several different types of logging tool. There are those that measure the natural
radiation generated by the formation, such as the total and spectral gamma ray logs, and those that
measure the response of the formation to radiation generated by the tool, such as the neutron, density
and litho-density logs. This chapter will cover the total gamma ray log and the following one will
examine the spectral gamma ray log.

10.2 Radioactivity Theory

Radioactivity is a fundamental property of the structure of all matter. The atoms of all elements have a
nucleus which contains different numbers of protons and neutrons, which is surrounded by a sheath of
electrons that are arranged in different energy levels. Each element is defined by the number of
positively charged protons its nucleus contains. This is called the atomic number Z. Each nucleus also
contains a number of neutrally charged neutrons, and the sum of the number of protons and neutrons
in the nucleus is called the atomic mass number, A. There are a number of negatively charged
electrons surrounding the nucleus equal to the number of protons within it, and their charge balances
the positive charge of the protons. Since the mass of electrons is insignificant compared to the mass of
the protons and neutrons, the atomic mass number is a measure of the mass of the atoms of each
element. Although the number of protons and electrons for a given element is characteristic of that
element, the number of neutrons is not. An element may have several isotopes which are atoms with
different numbers of neutrons in their nucleus. Thus any given atom of an element will have a fixed
atomic number, and a atomic mass number that depends upon which isotope it is. Most natural
materials are a mixture of different isotopes.
Each isotope of each element is given a code ZXA, where X is the elemental code. For example, carbon
has an atomic number Z=6, but 7 isotopes containing between 4 and 10 neutrons. These are 6C10 to
16
12
6C . Carbon-12, 6C , is the most common isotope, and it is stable. Most of the other isotopes are not
stable energetically, and decay to more stable elements by various processes whereby they lose energy
by expelling particles or photons. Carbon-14, 6C14, is one of these, and its decay process can be used to
date archaeological remains.
There are five main methods whereby an unstable isotope can gain stability by losing energy. These
are:

Emission of an particle, which is a helium nucleus 2He4, and carries two positive charges.
Emission of a - particle, which is a negatively charged high energy electron originating in the
nucleus together with an anti-neutrino, .
Emission of a + particle, which is a positively charged high energy positron originating in the
nucleus together with an neutrino, .
Emission of a gamma rays, , which are high energy photons (electro-magnetic waves) and have
no mass and carry no charge.
Electron capture, which involves an electron being captured by the nucleus.

Under some circumstances neutrons may also be expelled from a material, but this is not a
spontaneous decay.

Dr. Paul Glover

Page 93

Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

Radioactivity Logging

Gamma rays are the most important in petrophysical logging because they have the highest penetration
of all the radiations except neutrons. Their penetration ability means that they can be detected through
several centimetres of cement casing. Alpha and beta particles have very limited penetration ability,
being stopped immediately by any solid material.
Most isotopes found naturally in rocks are either stable, present in insignificant amounts, or generate
insignificant amounts of radiation. There are, however, a few which are significant. These are:

The potassium isotope 19K40 (the stable forms are 19K39 and 19K41).
The Thorium series isotopes.
The Uranium-Radium series isotopes.

The first is a single gamma emission at a single energy (1.46 MeV). The last two are mixtures of
unstable elements that generate each other in a series of radioactive emissions involving gamma
radiation. Hence, there is a spectrum of energies produced over the range 0 MeV to 3 MeV. The
energy spectra from the three gamma sources is shown in Fig. 10.1.

Probability of Emission per Disintegration

1.46 MeV

Potassium

Uranium-Radium Series
1.76 MeV

Thorium Series
2.62 MeV

Gamma Ray Energy (MeV)

Figure 10.1 Gamma ray emission energy spectra.

The three gamma ray sources also produce different intensities of radiation per gram per second. The
U-Ra series produces 26000 photons per gram per second, the Th series produces 12000 photons/g/s,
and 19K40 produces 3 photons/g/s. One might think that the potassium would be insignificant.
However, the potassium is much more abundant than the isotopes in the other two series, which makes

Dr. Paul Glover

Page 94

Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

Radioactivity Logging

its contribution to the overall radioactivity of a formation significant. Potassium is common in most
clays and some evaporites.
The most common gamma emitting lithology is shale. This is because shales are ultimately derived
from igneous rocks which have significant amounts of gamma emitting isotopes. Igneous rocks are
composed of quartz, feldspars and micas, the last two of which contain significant amounts of
potassium and occasionally also U-Ra and Th-series isotopes. The feldspars and micas alter to clay
minerals whose open lattice structure facilitates the inclusion of the larger radio-isotopes. These clays
form the principle components of shales. Hence, shales can contain up to 0.3% radio-potassium and up
to 0.01% of each of the U-Ra and Th-series isotopes. Unsurprisingly, potash beds are also highly
radioactive.
The gamma radioactivity from minerals in petrophysical logging are measured on the API scale,
described later. Table 10.1 shows typical API values for some common minerals. Note particularly
that shale and some evaporites have high gamma ray values, while sandstone and limestone have low
values.
Table 10.1 Gamma radiation from common minerals and lithologies (after Pirson, 1963).
Mineral or Lithology
Pure Mineral
Calcite
Dolomite
Quartz
Lithology
Limestone
Dolomite
Sandstone
Shale
Evaporites
Halite
Anhydrite
Gypsum
Sylvite
Carnalite
Langbeinite
Polyhalite
Kainite
Others
Sulphur
Lignite
Anthracite
Micas

Composition

Gamma Radiation (API

Units)

CaCO3
CaMg(CO3)2
SiO2

0
0
0

5-10
10-20
10-30
80-140

NaCl
CaSO4
CaSO4(H2O)2
KCl
KCl MgCl2(H20)6
K2SO4(MgSO4)2
K2SO4MgSO4(CaSO4)2(H2O)2
MgSO4KCl(H2O)3

0
0
0
500
220
290
200
245

S
CH0.849 N0.015 O0.221
CH0.358 N0.009 O0.022
-

0
0
0
200-350

Figure 10.2 shows the range of gamma ray values generated by common lithologies. Note the
particularly high values for potash beds, which contain a large amount of potassium-40, and organic
shales, which contain enhanced uranium associated with their organic nature.

Dr. Paul Glover

Page 95

Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

Radioactivity Logging

Gamma Ray Value (API)

1200
0

200

400

600

800 1000

1600
1400

1800

Cap Rock
Anhydrite
Coal
Salt
Limestone
Sandstone
Sand/Limestone
Glauconite Sandstone
Shaly Sandstone
Shaly Limestone
Sandy Shale
Calcareous Shale
Shale
Organic Marine Shales
Potash Beds

Common
Rarer
Figure 10.2 Gamma ray values from common lithologies.

10.3 Scattering and Attenuation

Once the gamma rays have been emitted they travel through materials (formation, fluids, mud cake
and drilling mud) and interact with them. There are three processes that occur, and each is applicable
to gamma rays with a given energy range. These are:

Gamma rays with energy >3 MeV. These interact with the nucleus of the materials that they are
travelling through and are converted into an electron and a positron in the process (pair
production). The efficiency of the process is low, so these gamma rays may be measured by a
sensor. However, they contribute only small amounts to the overall signal.

Gamma rays with energy 0.5 to 3 MeV. These gamma rays undergo compton scattering, where
a gamma ray interacts with the electrons of the atoms through which they are passing, ejecting the
electron from the atom, and losing energy in the process. A gamma ray in this range may undergo
several of these collisions reducing its energy from its initial value to an energy of less than 0.5
MeV in a stepwise fashion.

Gamma rays with energy <0.5 MeV. These gamma rays collide with electrons of the atoms
through which they are passing, and are adsorbed. The gamma ray energy is either used to
promote the electron to a higher energy level or to eject it from the atom. This process is called
photo-electric adsorption, and is important in the Litho-Density tool.

Thus, gamma rays start with a given energy, and are either lost through pair production, or undergo
compton scattering until their energy is sufficiently low for them to be adsorbed by photo-electric
absorption.
Dr. Paul Glover

Page 96

Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

Radioactivity Logging

The number of collisions, hence the reduction in gamma ray energy, and the number of gamma rays
adsorbed is directly related to the number of electrons in the materials through which the gamma rays
pass. High count rates are observed for materials with low electron densities, and low count rates for
high electron densities. The electron density is, of course, related to the mean atomic number and bulk
density of the material.
Figure 10.3 shows the processes of scattering and absorption schematically.
Photo-electric
Absorption

Electron
Neutron
Proton

Gamma
Ray
<0.5 MeV
Gamma
Ray
>3 MeV
Pair
Production

Gamma
Ray
0.5- 3MeV

Gamma
Ray
Compton
Scattering

Figure 10.3 Processes of gamma ray scattering and absorption.

Dr. Paul Glover

Page 97