Optical methods in the grain-size analysis of fine-grained sediments

Optical methods now dominate the grain-size analysis of fine-grained sediments, because of their rapidity. The growing application of optical methods leads to statistical comparison of their results against those from sedimentation methods. Here, the Kołmogorow-Smirnow non-parametric test is demonstrated. Most agreement exists in the 50-20 and 20-6 mm fraction. In order to compare the optical and the combined methods, correlation ratios were calculated for all commonly used grain-size fractions. Regression equations were established for the 50-20 mm fraction.