Microfabric Analysis in the Earth Sciences

More than half a century ago, distinguished scientists such as Terzaghi and Kubiena recognised that the microfabric of soils was important in controlling the behaviour of those materials. Since then several methods have been developed to study this microfabric, the most important of them are the microscopic methods, ranging from optical microscopy to transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Most work in the past has involved qualitative interpretation of the images produced, but recent developments in image analysis now allow quantitative parameters to be derived which can be related to the macroscopic properties of sediments. These developments are a major focus of this book.