Grain-size map-algebra

The development of spatial modelling in a Geographical Information System (GIS) can assist in treating, computing and displaying sedimentological data, such as grain-sizes.
In this work, four map algebra (MA) algorithms are written in a GIS environment to automatically produce maps depicting the spatial distribution of sediment texture classes based on the most frequently used grain-size TD: the Shepard (1954) classification, Flemming (2000) classification for sand/silt/clay components, and Folk et al. (1970) classification Blair and McPherson (1999) classification for sand/gravel/mud components. The proposed method allows rapid assessments by producing map distributions of the parameters most widely used in sedimentology. The algorithm is extremely flexible in terms of the input of end-members, and may therefore be applied to several fields in Earth Sciences, such as geochemistry, sedimentology or paleontology.

Download PDF: Development of algebra algorithms for automated generation of grainsize distribution maps