Open AccessUsing image analysis to estimate quantitatively some microstructural parameters of detrital sediments
Author(s) -
Pierre Francus
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geologica belgica (printed)/geologica belgica (online)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.227
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2034-1954
pISSN - 1374-8505
DOI - 10.20341/gb.2014.016
Subject(s) - petrography , geology , pixel , mineralogy , sedimentary rock , matrix (chemical analysis) , simple (philosophy) , binary number , image (mathematics) , binary image , orientation (vector space) , microstructure , image processing , materials science , computer science , geochemistry , geometry , mathematics , artificial intelligence , philosophy , arithmetic , epistemology , metallurgy , composite material
A simple, easy to implement, image analysis method providing quantitative parameters for detrital clay-rich sediments is presented. Photomicrographs from petrographic and backscattered electron microscopes are processed to produce binary images, where black pixels are objects within the clay-matrix. Measurements of the objects allow calculation of the value of several simple indices. These indices are defined to estimate quantitatively the grain-size, shape, orientation, and packing of the objects that constitute the sedimentary microstructures. The methodology advantageously replaces most of the time-consuming and laborious counting and measurements carried out in classical microsedimentological studies. It can be easily modified according to the needs of the user.