ISSN:
1573-8868
Keywords:
weight frequency
;
shape
;
grain size
;
computer application
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Mathematics
Notes:
Abstract When grains of a sediment sample are separated by sieving into a number of size classes, the weight of the grains belonging to a particular size-class is called the weight frequency of that class. That the weight frequencies cannot be used as simple frequencies for the calculation of the mean and standard deviation of size of grains is well known. A method is developed in this paper for estimating these two as well as a third parameter, named shape parameter, by minimizing a quadratic form that arises naturally as an analogue of the χ 2 statistic. Two fully worked out numerical examples, with simulated data, are presented to illustrate the method. A computer program in FORTRAN language is also appended. Comparative study shows that the quicker conventional method used by geologists may produce reasonably good estimates of standard deviation when the sample size is large, but the estimates of mean may show large deviations.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01091207
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