Sediment-petrography of Malaguide rocks from the Sierra de Espuña (Betic Cordilleras, Spain): comparison of results from a descriptive and a quantitative analysis

Abstract

The sediment petrography of Malaguide sequences from the Sierra de Espuña has been studied with an 'intuitive and descriptive' method for the analysis of sediments in thin sections. This method comprises an initial intuitive grouping based on a few characteristics of the sediment and a subsequent detailed description of the thin section. Differences between specific members of the Malaguide sequences, that were found with this method, are confirmed by a quantitative analysis based on point count data. It is concluded that the intuitive and descriptive method is an adequate tool for the study of the sediment petrographical aspects of a sedimentary sequence and that it produces results in a relatively short time.