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Rock and Role of ArcView GIS Author: Budhendra Bhaduri PO Box 2008 Phone: (865) 241 9272 Determination of rock composition with the traditional methods of using microscopes is extremely time-consuming, tedious, and error prone. Given that the majority of the identifying characteristics of minerals in thin sections are optically distinguishable in nature, an automation of this "optical recognition" process will significantly enhance the mineral phase determination and quantification of the relative distribution of the mineral phases. In other words, the manual thin section analysis can be mimicked by an automated digital image processing technique that is quicker and more accurate. Using ArcView GIS with the ArcView Image Analysis extension, we demonstrate how this concept can be implemented by earth scientists. |