THE STUDY OF ARENACEOUS SEDIMENTS BY MEANS OF ACETATE REPLICAS

The present paper describes the use of cellulose acetate replicas in the study of silicate rocks, particularly indurated sandstones. The procedure of Boardman and Utgaard (1964) for the reproduction of surface structures of polished limestone slabs for the study of Paleozoic Bryozoa, was modified and applied on silicate rocks using HF instead of formic acid as the etching agent. The polished slabs are etched with 40 % HF for 5–10 seconds and then washed, dried, wetted with acetone and gently pressed towards a mount of cellulose acetate. After drying, the specimen is quickly removed and an imprint is left on the acetate peel. By using thick (1.6 mm) cellulose acetate sheets no mounting on glass slides is needed, and the replica can be studied directly under the microscope or be used as a photographic negative.