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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

Journal of Sedimentary Research (SEPM)

Abstract


Journal of Sedimentary Petrology
Vol. 38 (1968)No. 1. (March), Pages 232-234

Quantitative Mineralogical Analysis of Carbonate Sediments: Comparison of X-ray Diffraction and Electron Probe Microanalyzer Methods: NOTES

Jon N. Weber

ABSTRACT

The mineralogy of the 80 to 140-mesh size fraction of three specimens of carbonate sediment from the Great Barrier Reef has been determined by X-ray diffraction and by means of frequency distributions obtained from Ca, Sr, and Mg electron microprobe analyses of 900 randomly selected grains. Calcite to aragonite ratios determined by the two independent methods are in good agreement. Valid estimates of the ratio of high-magnesium calcite to low-magnesium calcite can be obtained by X-ray diffraction only by very slow scanning of the spectrum and partial resolution of the modes of the calcite diffraction maximum; most other methods commonly used to partition the calcite curve into high-magnesium and low-magnesium components over-estimate the abundance of low-magnesium calcite.


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