Preliminary Note on the Granulometric Analysis of Sedimentary Rocks

The observation that the results of line and point counting analyses of the particle size distribution of the same sand are different leads to the conclusion that these results are biased by the sampling technique 1 . The influence of the currently used sampling techniques on the numerical results of a particle size analysis is discussed. Evidence is presented to show that the use of line and point counting methods in granulometric analysis leads to results in which the influence of the sampling method is so strong that the practical value of these techniques is doubtful. It is therefore considered advisable to discontinue line and point counting techniques in granulometric analysis in favour of ribbon sampling methods.