4:30 PM - 4:45 PM
[MIS17-11] 21st century optical mineralogy: A new workflow for automated textural analysis
★Invited Papers
Keywords:polarization microscope, software, image processing, crystal optics, petrographic textures
Although analytical techniques are advancing and achieving higher precision and resolution, low-cost, easy-to-use methods—such as polarizing microscopy—remain essential. Polarizing microscopes are widely used for the initial description of rock textures, including mineral identification and describing the preferred orientation of crystals. Their efficiency can be leveraged to build large-scale datasets of textural information for rocks or minerals, but there is currently no established workflow for analyzing images captured by a polarizing microscope.
To dramatically improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of microtextural analysis of silicate-dominant rocks, we developed an optimized workflow by creating analytical software for a polarizing microscope. Our software analyzes the video of a rotating thin section and compares the colors recorded by the camera’s CMOS sensor with the theoretical interference colors of polarized light using matrix optics calculations. This makes it possible to estimate mineral retardation and crystal orientation in a nearly automated manner. Furthermore, the system can readily perform various analyses—including uniaxial crystal orientation, grain-size distribution, crystal morphology, and phase mapping—all within one platform. The entire process takes only a few minutes, enabling the creation of large-scale datasets.
In this presentation, we will present the potential of our newly developed software through theoretical insights and demonstrations using several natural silicate rock samples.
To dramatically improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of microtextural analysis of silicate-dominant rocks, we developed an optimized workflow by creating analytical software for a polarizing microscope. Our software analyzes the video of a rotating thin section and compares the colors recorded by the camera’s CMOS sensor with the theoretical interference colors of polarized light using matrix optics calculations. This makes it possible to estimate mineral retardation and crystal orientation in a nearly automated manner. Furthermore, the system can readily perform various analyses—including uniaxial crystal orientation, grain-size distribution, crystal morphology, and phase mapping—all within one platform. The entire process takes only a few minutes, enabling the creation of large-scale datasets.
In this presentation, we will present the potential of our newly developed software through theoretical insights and demonstrations using several natural silicate rock samples.