A New Method for Estimating Lengths for Partially Exposed Features

Length distributions from sedimentary bodies can be measured in outcrop. A common feature in many outcrops is the occurrence of partially exposed bodies, i.e., sedimentary bodies that are cut by either one or both edges of the outcrop. Ignoring these partials while establishing a length distribution leads to a bias toward the smaller length classes. This is because larger bodies have a larger probability to occur as partials than smaller bodies. We present a new method for estimating the expected complete length for a partially exposed feature, based on the theory of conditional probability. The method is demonstrated and tested on a sandstone outcrop exhibiting over 200 interbedded thin silt/shale streaks. It is shown that the method can significantly enlarge both the size and the representativeness of length distributions.