Extraction of sedimentological information via computer-based image analyses of gray shales in carboniferous coal-bearing sections of Indiana and Kansas, USA

Fine-scale fabric within shales can be used to interpret environments of deposition. In particular, systematic variations in lamina thicknesses can be used to suggest the presence or absence of specific sedimentological controlling factors, such as tides. Herein, shale fabric is analyzed from Carboniferous coal-bearing and siliciclastic-rich formations in Indiana and Kansas. The shales exhibit well developed, normally graded lamina. Sediment grain sizes range from silt and sand at the base of the lamina up to silt and clay at the top. Computer-based optical scanning of prepared shale samples was undertaken so that the lamina thicknesses could be extracted automatically and then used for thickness-series analysis. The sands and silts tend to be very light in color because they consist of well sorted, quartz-rich sands. Conversely, the silt and clay that cap the laminae tend to be dark because of the small grain size; such fine-grained layers also contain large amounts of macerated and coalified plant material. Grain size and sedimentological differences within the laminae can be detected by optical properties and this facilitates automated image processing. Extraction of laminae thicknesses and harmonic analyses of laminae-thickness series can then be used to test the reasonability of specific environmental processes, such as tidal forcing, that were operative during the formation of these shales.